


Harry Potter and the intent of a Prophecy

by Rezakeene



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, F/M, Good Severus Snape, Harry Potter was Raised by Sirius Black, Manipulative Dumbledore, Super Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2018-11-04 00:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 28,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10978557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rezakeene/pseuds/Rezakeene
Summary: Vanquishing the Dark Lord cannot be done alone, it requires courage, cunning, and wisdom. With the help and love of his friends and loved ones; join our hero and his allies as they face down many obstacles and an ominous prophecy





	1. Prophecy

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All the characters of the Harry Potter Universe belong to JKR.

The streets of the village were dark. No living soul wandered these streets at that hour. The winter was terrible that year. All the structures were covered in white, thick, and massive sheets of snow. That, in turn, illuminated the village in a strange eerie glow.

The man in the long purple robes was observing the setting. To a casual observer, he may be seemed to be taking in the sight of snow laden setting, but the loss of the everlasting twinkle in his blue eyes and his alert stance told a different story. The ongoing war had taken its toll on everybody. The man took a sideward glance at the chatter coming from a nearby place. Three broomsticks looked cozy and warm. The gentle flames in the fireplace seen through the gaps of the door were inviting. But Dumbledore's paces did not stop there; his destination was at the far end of the village.

Albus Dumbledore reached the dingy part of Hogsmeade. He was standing in front of a shady pub. Hog's head always had this mortifying look. Anybody who wanted to have a good private conversation wouldn't come here. There were too many eavesdroppers. Alas, Dumbledore wasn't hoping to have any kind of secret meeting thus it did not matter to him.

He gave a gentle nudge to the door that opened with quite a loud squeak. The owner gave a dirty look at the newcomer and went back to scrubbing the tables. Dumbledore smiled and swept his eyes through the room. There was no fire roaring in the fireplace to warm the place. There were flickering lamps burning in the corners of the room that provided the meager amount of light. There at one corner of the room in the front of one of the lamps, sat a lone figure that caught Dumbledore's attention. He strode through the dank benches to reach that person. Some people drew their hoods further down to conceal their faces and some of them arrogantly raised their eyebrows towards the approaching wizard. He ignored all of them and went to the person who was at the last table and sat across her.

"Sybill Trelawney," his voice was filled warmth when he addressed her.

"Professor Dumbledore, Sir," she answered in a high squeaky voice. She looked oddly dressed even for Hog's head. She was drowning in oversized jumpers and shawls. Her eyes looked engorged from her high-powered round glasses. Her unkempt hair was falling into her face.

"Ah Sybill, I trust you are doing well. Now, what can I do for you?" Dumbledore queried.

"I heard you have a vacancy for the Divination teacher's post," she said. Dumbledore nodded and gave a hand gesture to continue. "Right," she cleared her throat. "I think you cannot find a better teacher than I. The legendary Seer, Cassandra Trelawney's blood runs through my veins and my recent predictions have come true already," she stated with mustered confidence.

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Well, if you are talking about the Magpie's win from last Quidditch season, I hardly consider that as your prediction, my dear. I heard you made that prediction when the other team lost their seeker in the middle of the game and the Magpie's were ahead with a massive lead."

"N…no", Trelawney stuttered. She gulped and said, "No." "That would be incorrect. Surely, you must have heard about my other predictions and not one, mm hm, went wrong." She hastily took the glass in front of her and gulped the drink, more than half of it slipping into her shawls.

Dumbledore took pity on the person in front of him. He never had the inclination to continue the concept of Divination in his curriculum, but he thought it was polite to at least meet her. He was disappointed. The poor thing did not share the gift of her ancestor.

"I have nowhere to live Professor. I have lost everything and everyone," she said in a shaky voice. "I can prove myself if you give me a chance. My visions are vivid and my predictions are absolute. It would be beneficial to the school and its students. Through my sight, I will be able to prepare them better for their futures. In that way they will be able to look beyond and be always ready," she continued.

Dumbledore chuckled to himself. "I have no doubts about you, my dear, but you see," he abruptly stopped as the woman in front of him was suddenly pushed into a trance. Her eyes rolled up into her head and she started talking in a wheezy tone. The man in the half moon spectacles was startled at the new developments but recovered. As Dumbledore heard the word Dark Lord, he brandished his wand and put up a silencing charm, enveloping both of them in a special bubble.

_"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… protected by two souls that accompanied him into this world… a brilliant one, same as his mother and a cunning one who is misguided… together they gave him a power, Dark Lord knows not…and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…."_

She immediately came out of the trance and looked into the shocked eyes of the headmaster. "Ah, Professor Dumbledore, as I was saying, I really don't have a place to stay. I would be very grateful if you consider my services," she concluded in her normal voice.

Dumbledore was spellbound but his face remained impassive. He could not believe his ears for a moment. That was a real prophecy and he believed its authenticity as he heard it firsthand. He would believe everything she said in her trance like state, as that is the indication of a true seer capability. A solution has been presented. It provided him a hope. Tom riddle could be challenged, crippled, and crushed. He has got a lot to think. But first things first, he had to handle the situation in front of him.

Dumbledore turned around and looked at the people around them. There was no doubt some of them were Voldemort's followers. There is every chance they have overheard parts of the prophecy before his shield went up. As if taken a clue a person at the far end stood up and rushed outside. Dumbledore groaned knowing that the prophecy was already on its way to the intended. He was disappointed at the unfortunate moment and chided himself for underestimating the potential of the candidate. Sybill Trelawney had indeed possessed the sight, even though she was unaware of it. He definitely regretted the location she had chosen to meet the headmaster.

He sighed and turned his face to the oblivious person in front of him. She had no idea, that she had just given hope to all of them who wants to fight against the tyranny of Lord Voldemort and in doing so put herself in a grave danger. Dumbledore had to make the decision. He was not sure how much of the Prophecy the messenger heard. They may come after her. She is in a vulnerable situation and he now held the responsibility of protecting her. The only inevitable solution he could foresee was to hire her for the said Divination post.

"Sybill, I indeed require your services. I am delighted to offer you a position in our esteemed staff. And may all the children be enlightened by your wisdom," Dumbledore told the excited lady in front of him.

She seemed ecstatic. "Thank you, thank you, Professor. I am so grateful. You have deemed my mind utterly rapturous. You can now be ensured that your students are going to glow in the rays of pure knowledge of the noble art of Divination."

"I am sure. Now please allow me to escort you to your quarters in our great school. I trust you are looking forward to a good night's sleep after this tiring day," Dumbledore spoke as he got up to lead the way out.

"Mmm, yes yes. I am very much looking forward to it. Headmaster, you are most kind," Trelawney followed Dumbledore, gathering all her things.

"That my dear Sybill, you have no idea," Dumbledore mused to himself entering into the cold night again. But when he faced the ice-cold weather now, some of the lost twinkles had re-entered his blue eyes.

 


	2. Defeat

Defeat

Severus Snape landed at the foot of the hill. He looked around to see if his sudden appearance had caught any unnecessary attention, but everything seemed fine. He tugged his black robes closer to his body and walked forward.

His whole world had turned upside-down from the day he had heard that damn prophecy. It would have been a different case if he had got hold of the entire thing. But in his rush and misinformation, he pushed Lily into danger. The thought itself made Severus taste bile at the back of his throat. Going to Albus Dumbledore seemed like the only idea at that time to save her. When the Head Master asked for his sacrifice, he gladly gave it. He didn't care what happened to her moron husband or her spoiled brat, but he wanted her to be safe and away from the danger. He would continue to live his double life how hard it maybe if that meant she's safe.

He took a sharp breath when annoying squeals of laughter hit his ears. He then noticed he had entered a small children playground. He scowled looking at their faces, gleaming with joy and happiness, that he was deprived of since his childhood. Why did Dumbledore ask him to meet in this Godforsaken place? He narrowed his eyes at the bench at the far end of the park. The wizard sitting there waved at him and gestured to come over.

Severus Snape trudged along, keeping his steps far from the giggling children, which was seeming to be an impossible task. He had to dodge an incoming ball or it would have squashed his face. "Bloody, muggle runts," he grumbled and increased his pace towards the waiting wizard on the bench.

"Ah, Severus! Nice of you to join me," Dumbledore greeted him with a smile. "Come, have a seat. Would you care of a lollipop?" He asked offering a bright orange colored candy on a stick.

Snape cringed looking at the picture Dumbledore made on the bench at a muggle park. In his pretty purple robes, with long white beard and hair, and a similar lollipop in his mouth, he looked absurd.

"No," he said in a curt voice. "Why did you ask me to come here?"

"Try the Lollipop, Severus. Today is Halloween."

"Did you ask me to come here to talk about idiotic customs?"

"I was just trying to lighten up. But never mind, have you heard anything about the spy, in your circle?" Dumbledore asked before going back to sucking on his candy.

Severus knew there was a Dark Lord's spy among the order, that relayed information from time to time to the Dark Lord. But the Dark Lord kept his identity hidden from all his followers. Severus was trying hard to get his ears on the matter, but he had no luck.

"Any rumors about Sirius Black?"

"Why would I hear anything about that shaggy mutt?"

"There were whispers Bellatrix was trying to recruit her cousin into Voldemort's service," Dumbledore said looking at the children, particularly at a little girl with brown bushy hair, who was sliding down.

"She wishes. But Black is loyal to Potter. It's true he was born into a family of ardent blood lusted purebloods. He carries that in his blood too, but he is Potter's man. Nothing could drive Black away from the Potters. He's not the spy," Snape stated with disgust.

"Thank you, Severus," a satisfied smile appeared on Dumbledore's face. "That's what I thought. Indeed, Potters are in safe hands."

"Excuse me," a small voice interrupted their conversation.

"Yes, my dear," Dumbledore asked in a gentle voice looking at the same little girl with brown bushy hair, who was now standing in front of them.

"Are you witches?" she asked in a timid voice looking at them from under her eyelashes.

"We are not witches. We are wizards," Dumbledore said calmly while Severus sneered.

"No, you are witches. You are hairy just like them," she said scrunching her face in confusion. "You have a nose just like the witch in my book," she said pointing to Snape. She spoke with a clarity in her words, which was unusual for a girl at that age. She twirled around in her long black dress and pointy hat. "I'm a witch too. But I'm not hairy. I want a nose like this," she said rising on her toes to touch Severus' nose.

Dumbledore chuckled and Snape's face twisted in anger. "Run along, little girl. You don't want the scary witches to take you away. Go back to your parents."

Her eyes went wide at Severus' words and she took a step back.

"Get back to your parents, Hermione," Dumbledore said pointing towards a couple running towards them.

Hermione smiled brightly and touched her small nose with her finger and to her glee, it became slightly longer and she squealed in joy, "Look, I'm a witch." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled and Severus raised his eyebrow at this new development. By that time the little girl's father had caught up with her. He lifted up the squealing bundle into his arms and threw a wary look at the odd pair sitting on the bench. "Look, Papa, see my nose. I'm a witch," she said laughing and touching the slight pointy tip of her nose.

"Of course, darling. You're not supposed to run away like that and talk to strangers, Hermione. What did we talk about it?" Her father admonished Hermione, trying to cover her nose.

"They are witches just like me," Hermione declared in joy. The little girl had no idea, how accurate her statements were.

"That's not a proper thing to say, darling. Now let's go and leave these gentlemen to their business," he father guided her taking her hand.

"Wait, Papa," Hermione reached into her pockets and took out two pieces of candy. She came forward and gave one to Dumbledore.

"Thank you, my dear. But why a candy?" he asked looking at her with a quizzical expression.

"Today is the trick and treat day. You are witches," she said placing the candy into his extended hand. She next turned to Severus and did the same thing.

"No," Severus moved uncomfortably.

"Take," she said thrusting the candy into his hand. Snape grimaced looking at the orange piece of sweet in his hand, while Hermione sprinted away with her father.

He dropped it and with the wand hidden in his robes, cast a Scourgify and cleaned the sticky mess in his hand. "What a bossy, know-it-all," he grumbled still looking at the bouncing girl with her father. "Dare I ask, why were you spying on this annoying potential witch?"

"I have my reasons, Severus," Dumbledore said tearing his gaze away from the girl. "What happened to the other task, we discussed."

Severus sighed at those words, "Yes, it's done. I'm now the Godfather of Draco Lucius Malfoy. I don't understand why you forced me to persuade Lucius to do this. I don't care for children."

"Time will answer," Dumbledore pondered for a minute. "Very well then. I think we should head back. Rosmerta promised a nice glass of her freshly brewed mead. I would have asked you to join me, but that may be a serious blow to your cover," Dumbledore said rising from his place.

"That's it? You don't give me reasons for actions?" Severus said following Dumbledore's footsteps.

"Severus, you don't have to ask me. If it was imperative that you need to be aware of the reasons, you don't need to ask. I will give them to you, myself," Dumbledore said walking towards the hill.

"Stop," Severus almost yelled. "You wouldn't tell me, where she is or how is protected. At least tell me, she's away, safe and never would be touched."

"We are trying our best," Dumbledore said patting Severus' shoulder in comfort. "Let's just hope Voldemort didn't corrupt any of the order member's minds. If that's all I'll be on my way."

Severus knew then, he couldn't get any more answers from the old man. He just hoped the measures he had taken to keep the Dark Lord away from the Potters, work. As he saw the headmaster being sucked into the vacuum, he lifted his own wand, his destination firm in his mind.

Severus landed in front of the pristine gates of Malfoy Manor. It was gleaming against the twilight. He opened the gates and strolled inside. Lucius' white peacocks were hurling around him as his steps lead him to the door.

As he entered the house, Severus immediately noticed something different. The Gloom that usually surrounded the Malfoy Manor was gone and in that place, Severus heard a cheerful child laughter.

"Severus," Lucius welcomed him with a smile.

"Lucius," Severus replied, masking his confusion. His eyes moved to his wife who was sitting on the armchair with a contented smile, looking at their son, as he chased the house-elf. "Narcissa," Severus greeted drifting her attention to him.

"Severus. Nice of you to join us. Dobby a glass of fire whiskey to Severus, now," she ordered the house-elf.

"Yes, mistress," the elf disappeared making the little toddler break into a series of cries.

"Draco, come here. Greet your Godfather," Narcissa chided the screaming toddler.

"Sevvus," Draco toddled to Snape, sniffling. "Candy," he showed his fistful of sweets to his Godfather.

Severus stopped the grimace before it transferred to his face. What is it with candy and these kids? "Very well done, Draco. Did your father and mother give them to you?"

Draco shook his head. "Dobby give candy. Dwaco likes Dobby."

"Stop that! You, insolent boy. A Malfoy never talks about a house elf. You are a Malfoy and you'll behave like one," Lucius' voice resounded in the living room. Draco turned his terrified eyes towards his mother, but her eyes held same admonishing expression. He then turned to his Godfather who remained impassive. The toddler timidly took Severus' hand and hid behind him.

Snape sighed and looked at Lucius. "Why is it, so calm?"

Lucius grinned but his wife answered. "This is just the calm before the storm, dear Severus."

The elf popped at that moment and offered the beverage to Severus Snape. He took the seat offered by the Malfoys and took a sip.

"Dobby, take Draco to bed. It's almost his bedtime," Narcissa commanded.

"Mother, Dwaco play," the toddler started whining.

"My dragon, you're tired. You have to sleep," her voice had no room for argument.

"Come, Master Draco," the elf took the Draco's chubby little hand into his and guided towards the step.

"Draco, what are you forgetting?" Narcissa called again.

"Sowwy. Mother, Father, Sevvus, goodnight," Draco said righting his posture. As the adults returned their greetings, he was dragged away by the elf.

"Bedtime? It's 6 in the evening," Severus said taking a long sip of the liquid that burned his throat.

"The situation's going to get intense, soon," Lucius said righting a mantelpiece.

"Meaning," Severus asked.

"It's going to be festive," Lucius said with a smile.

"Today will go down on in the history."

"Mudbloods will be purged from the society."

"We will paint the victory of Dark Lord in their blood."

The wife and husband spoke ardently.

"The rat in their precious order got the information the Dark Lord was waiting for. Bella was beyond herself with joy," Lucius said with amusement.

If Bellatrix was happy did it mean, Sirius Black was the rat? Severus asked as his heart thudding. "Sirius Black?" Severus Snape asked even though his mind hoped it wasn't true. His hands began to sweat thinking about the worse.

"No, it's not Black. It's a shame that Sirius didn't join our cause. He would have made a very valuable asset," Lucius said brushing the cane that held his wand.

Severus's racing heart relaxed. If it's not Sirius Black, there was no worry.

"It's that mousy boy, that used to hang around them What was his name? Pettigrew. He came with the location of the Potters."

"It's not possible. They are in hiding. How could he possibly know?" Severus interjected. He didn't want to believe a thing coming out of Lucius' mouth. But the anxiety that was rising in his heart couldn't be curbed.

"The cowards were hiding under a Fidelius charm somewhere in Godric's Hollow, and they made that Pettigrew their secret keeper."

"They would never trust anybody else. It'll always be Black. Their friendship is disgustingly close," Severus said desperately hoping what he said was true.

"Severus is right, Lucius. Do you think it was a trap for the Dark Lord?" Narcissa asked in concern. Severus had to agree. Dumbledore is capable of this kind of cunning.

"My dear Narcissa," Lucius said draping a hand over his wife's shoulders. "Your dear sister told me, Black himself stepped aside for this same fact and suggested Pettigrew would be their secret keeper. Everybody would think he would be the secret keeper and that make the whole situation vulnerable."

Severus' brain stopped working. If what Lucius' saying is true, they are in imminent danger and he had to go.

"No one thought it was going to be this easy. They have paved a way for the Dark Lord directly into their house. Poor trusting Gryffindors. Their boy's death is, on their own hands," Lucius was speaking in a merry mood and Severus felt sick.

"Something needs my attention. Dark Lord's orders," Severus mumbled and rushed out of the Malfoy Manor without waiting for their reactions.

As soon as he was outside, he looked at the purples in the sky and cried out in agony. The Dark Lord is on his way to Lily's house and there's nothing to stop him. He brushed the tears from his face and concentrated on Dumbledore's words. He said he would be going to Rosmerta's for a drink. Without a second thought, Severus apparated to Hogsmeade, looking for the headmaster. He banged the door open and barged inside.

"Your kind, are not welcome here," Rosmerta hissed at the intruder.

"Where is the Headmaster?" Severus Snape asked his voice laced with urgency. "Please, I need to see him."

Rosmerta looked at him with suspicion filled eyes. Severus was ready to whip his wand out and hex her to speak. But she saved him the trouble and slowly spoke. "He just left."

"Where did he go?" Severus asked catching hold of her hand.

"Get off me, you Death Eater. The Headmaster doesn't discuss his business with me," she yelled.

Severus looked around the pub warily. He had already started to catch several Patrons' interest. He left her hand and walked out.

He could see the Hogwarts' castle glinting the sparse moonlight. Will the headmaster be there or somewhere else with the Order of the Phoenix? His mind was flashing all different kinds of alarms. What if he couldn't find the Head Master? What if the Dark Lord had already reached their house? "No," he screamed wringing his hands and pacing. He'll never let Lily get hurt for his mistake. Deep down in his heart, he knew this was all his fault. Not her brat, not her husband and not even her Muggle-born status brought her doom. It was he who pushed her into the line of fire. He brushed at the tears furiously and steadied his wand. There was the only option left in his hand, even if that meant fighting the Dark Lord himself.

He apparated to Godric's Hollow in the next second. He neither knew where he landed nor he had a clue where the Potters lived. He looked around and according to the surroundings, it was somewhere in the mid of the town. The streets were empty and the lamps were flickering. His worried eyes looked around for any clue to find the Potters.

He looked north, straight at the moon and walked in that direction. His brisk steps haven't reached even a block, a large boom echoed in the surroundings.

Severus ran with all his might, praying to any deity who could listen, to keep Lily safe. As he took a hard left turn he saw a dust cloud encompassing the whole area.

Severus halted in his step. He lost his hold on the tiny wisp of hope he was hanging onto. His heart shambled and his knees gave away. He fell to the ground as the harsh reality that Lily is no more, crushed his soul.


	3. Promise

He zoomed into the night sky, his motorcycle whirring loud. The cold air battered his face and Sirius Black enjoyed the harsh caress of the wind.

He guffawed, remembering the pathetic attempts of his deranged cousin. She is the epitome of insanity. Bellatrix didn't have any idea how wrong she is if she thought he was the secret keeper for the Potters' safety. But James, Lily, and Harry were safe; no one would think it was Pettigrew who held the secret to their safety.

Lowering the motorcycle to the ground he approached the crooked building in the outskirts of the Hogsmeade village. The tales of the haunted building always brought a smile to Sirius. If only one knew about the real beast that haunted the Shrieking Shack. He hid the motorcycle in the shadows and entered the fence that secured the building. The door creaked open as Sirius entered.

"Wormtail! Got you some food," he called to his friend. "I know you're quite happy with moldy bread and stinky cheese. But come on, you can't say no to warm soup and Rosmerta's mead."

He settled the food on the table and turned around. It felt strange. The enticing aroma of the soup would have dragged Peter out by now.

"Peter," he called climbing the stairs. There was no sign. "If you are hiding as a rat, you need to come out Peter. You're getting me worried. You don't want Padfoot to come out, now do you?"

But still, there was no answer. A small panic started to build in his heart. Did Voldemort get to Peter? No, that's impossible. "Lumos," Sirius muttered and started looking around the cottage frantically. The cottage was as filthy as it was yesterday. It definitely seemed like no attack had taken place and there were no signs of a struggle. He held his head in his hands and walked out of the Shrieking Shack. He couldn't place his finger, but something didn't add up. Peter's mysterious disappearance without any struggle isn't a good sign. He approached his motorcycle and started it.

He kept his hold on the motorcycle with one hand and with other he searched his pockets for his two-way mirror. He picked it and placed it the nook between the handle and the body. "Prongs!" he yelled calling for his friend.

He was waiting for his messy haired friend to appear in the mirror, but nothing happened. The hand on the accelerator stilled for a moment. This was not supposed to happen. James always answered immediately. "James!" he called with a louder voice. His brows furrowed. A knot started to form in his heart. "James," he called in an urgent voice. But there was no answer.

Frantic alarms went off in his head. He gripped his wand in his hand apparated along with his bike.

Sirius didn't know what to expect as he landed in front of their friend's house. But his eyes met with a sight of a dark broken house, instead of the quaint little cottage, that hummed with a toddler's cheery laughter. His heart broke and he let out a harsh cry. He kicked the motorcycle away with his leg and rushed inside.

"Prongs," he yelled kicking the open door. "Where are you, mate?"

The living room was dark and reeked of destruction. It was filled with dust and smoke and Sirius had to stumble his way through it, in the darkness. He groaned and lit his wand and frantically searched for any sign of his friends. His heart thudded wishing his friends have escaped before this happened. Then, he saw a mangled hand and his heart stopped. "Please, not James," he whispered and nudged his adamant feet, forward. There on the floor, he saw his best friend and brother lying, with lifeless eyes gazing into the vacuum.

"James," he gasped and got down to his knees. "No, this is not happening. For Merlin's sake wake up, James." But there was no movement in James. Tears flooded his face as Sirius pulled James' body into his lap. "James, you can't do this to me. You can't leave me, James. Please wake up."

Sirius whole world shattered into pieces. This was not supposed to happen. His eyes widened as Lily and Harry flashed in front of his eyes and panic struck his mind. He lowered his friend to the ground. He brushed James' messy hair away from his forehead and closed his eyes. He stood up and proceeded towards the stairs.

"Lily," he called but he knew there would be no answer. There was a ruffling sound from the upstairs and Sirius tightened his grip on his wand. But all his anger melted into despair seeing Lily at an awkward angle at the door. Her emerald eyes were staring into vacuum just like her husband's.

"Lils," Sirius cried looking at her beautiful face. "This wasn't supposed to happen. The secret is safe with Peter." But things began to click into their places in Sirius' head. Wormtail was missing. There were no signs of trouble. That could only mean one thing.

"Traitorous bastard," Sirius hissed. "Pettigrew," he screamed into the void.

It was Peter's fault. He sold James and Lily to Voldemort. He shouldn't have persuaded James to change the secret keepers. No, it wasn't Peter's fault. It was his own fault that James and Lily are dead and Harry is gone. The thought about that monster with little Harry broke Sirius' heart.

"I'll tear that stupid rat into pieces," Sirius swore as he got up to his feet.

"Pafoo," a tiny voice trembled as Sirius' foot landed on the first step.

Sirius whirled around and his eyes widened at the sight that unfurled in front of him. Hanging onto the crib rails with puffy green eyes just like his mother and wild messy hair just like his father, was Harry Potter. He lunged at the toddler and picked him up.

"Harry, my boy," Sirius scooped up the sniffling toddler into his arms and showered his face with kisses. "You're alive." Sirius drew back and looked at Harry. The little boy was covered in soot and blood was trickling from his forehead. Sirius hurriedly took his wand out and siphoned all the soot from the toddler's face. Once the dirt was cleared, Sirius got a clear look at the damage done to his little innocent face. With the cuff of his sleeve, he wiped the blood and gasped. "No," Sirius said looking at the scar shaped like a lightening bolt that was carved into his forehead.

"Pafoo," Harry sniffled and pointed to his mother on the floor. "Mumma."

Sirius' heart sank into his stomach. He pulled little Harry into his chest and cried. "Mumma and Dadda are always with you, Harry." Sirius consoled the little boy, his heart distressed heart not being able to process anything about the scar on Harry's forehead.

Harry's sniffles slowly dissolved into even breathing. Sirius looked around the nursery trying to comprehend what exactly had happened.

The rat must have leaked the address, making their house vulnerable. He knew Harry was Voldemort's main target. But how did Harry survive? What had happened to Voldemort? Sirius pressed Harry's tiny body closer to him. He's the only one Harry has. "I'll protect you," Sirius said pressing a kiss to Harry's brow, as his fingers moved to close Lily's vacant eyes.

Sirius didn't know how long he stayed with Harry in his arms. He sat there staring into nothingness, thinking about his lost friends. He was jolted into reality when he heard a loud thud from the downstairs. He became alerted and picked up his wand. But he sighed as he heard the cries of his half-giant friend.

He clutched Harry's sleeping form and moved around Lily's body towards the steps. "Hagrid," he called interrupting the gamekeeper's grief.

"Sirius," Hagrid came closer to Sirius. "Yeh're here." He tried to hug Sirius, but Sirius moved back, pointing to the sleeping bundle in his arms.

"Is tha' Harry?" Hagrid asked looking at the sleeping bundle in Sirius' arms. Sirius nodded holding him tighter. Hagrid sobbed louder and tried to take Harry from Sirius' arms. "Harry's alive. Professor Dumbledore sen' me to get him," Hagrid said wiping his fat tears. "Little tyke los' all his family."

"He's got me," Sirius said proudly. "Until I'm around. Harry's not alone. He's not going anywhere."

"O' course," Hagrid said, patting Sirius' shoulder. "The Headmaster said 's not safe for Harry, here. I have to take him."

"No. Harry stays with me," Sirius said with an unrelenting hold on the babe.

"Yeh've to trust Professor Dumbledore, Sirius. He said Death Eaters will be everywhere. We have got to keep the little tyke safe. Isn't that yeh wan'? Professor Dumbledore knows what's best for the little one. Yeh've to let him go, Sirius, for his own good."

It was extremely tough for Sirius to let Harry go. They've got only each other. But if Dumbledore said it's not safe for Harry here, there must be truth in it. He transferred sleeping toddler into Hagrid's giant arms. Harry coughed and fidgeted a bit in his sleep, but slowly got adjusted into the new warmth.

"Take my bike," Sirius said, knowing Hagrid's not allowed to apparate. "What happened to Voldemort?"

"Gone."

Sirius brow furrowed. "What do you mean gone? Is he dead?"

"We don' know wha' happened, but Headmaster Dumbledore reckons, he's gone. When he tried killing little Harry, his curse backfired."

"How's that possible?" Sirius asked a surreal feeling pass over him.

"That's Headmaster's business to tell, Sirius. Yeh're not coming?" Hagrid said transferring Harry into a makeshift snuggly carrier inside his large coat.

Sirius knew Harry would be safe with Dumbledore and he had a very important task on his hands, that has to be taken care of. He looked at James Potter's unmoving body and growled. "I need to take care of something," Sirius said as the face of the rat flashed in front of his eyes.

"James and Lily, they were good peopl'. This shouldn' have happened to them," Hagrid said wiping his tears.

"Take care of Harry," Sirius said unable to take his eyes off James.

Sirius stood there, listening to the rumble of the motorcycle. He glanced at the huge form of Hagrid flying into the sky taking the only hope of his life with him.

"James, I swear my brother, I'll drag that rat out of its hole and rip him into pieces in front of you," bellowed Sirius.

"Is that a wise decision, Black? He's the only one who can prove your innocence," a black figure stepped out of shadows.

Sirius fired a series of spells at the intruder, but he was quick and blocked each and every one of them. "Come into the light, you Death Eater," Sirius yelled. "You can't touch Harry. He's safe, away from here."

"I don't care about that little brat," Snape said removing his hood.

"Snivellus," Sirius hissed and yelled, "Stupefy."

Snape blocked the curse but his eyes were fixed on the body of James Potter. "He brought her doom. It's because of him, Lily died."

"How dare you speak of James, you wretched snake," Sirius said protectively standing in front of James.

"If not for him and his brat, she would still be alive," Snape said dejectedly. "You all killed her."

His words twisted something in Sirius' heart. He lunged at him and hit him in his face. But Sirius didn't stop at that. He kept on punching Snape's face, not able to register the fact that Snape wasn't showing any resistance. Blood started seeping from Snape's face and the squelching noises vibrated in the dead silence of the night.

From nowhere a blast of the wind shot at them and Sirius and Severus sprung apart.

"Aah," Sirius groaned at the force.

"Are you out of your mind?" a voice boomed. Sirius opened his eyes and cried at the sight of Remus Lupin.

"Remus, he's gone. James is gone," Sirius sobbed his body wracking in his anguish cries.

But the werewolf crowded him with glimmering eyes. He pulled Sirius up by his shirt and howled, "How could you do this, Sirius? How could you sell your soul to Voldemort?"

"What?" Sirius asked in confusion. "What the hell are you speaking?" It was true Remus and he drifted apart and their friendship was dwindling. But how could he ever think that he would do this to James and Lily?

"Black didn't do it," Severus muttered slowly. "It was Pettigrew. Although how I wished, you were the one who was responsible, Black. I would have sent you to Azkaban to rot."

"What the hell are you doing here Snape? Came to finish the task, your precious Dark Lord failed to," Sirius lunged at him, again. But Remus kept his hold tight on him. Snape scowled but didn't answer.

"Sirius would tear you apart, Snape. I'm the only one between you and him, now. Tell us, why you're here. If you think about harming a hair on Harry's head, we will blast you into oblivion," Remus said glaring at him, his wand directly pointed at Snape's chest.

"I would never do that to Lily," he cried, his gaze wandering upwards where her body lied. "I heard Pettigrew leaked their location to the Dark Lord, so I came to save her. But she's gone. She died protecting her son," Snape whimpered. "Pettigrew didn't just leak the secret to Voldemort. He destroyed the Fidelius charm. He had been with the Dark Lord the whole time. I have seen that rat bastard running from here, yelling about the destruction of the Dark Lord. He declared to the world, that Harry Potter destroyed the Dark Lord. I would have killed him myself, but he escaped."

Remus lowered his wand but Sirius growled. "You're a Death Eater. Why should we believe a word coming out of a snake's mouth?"

Remus lowered his grip on Sirius and shook his head. "Because he's the only proof for your innocence. At this moment, Dumbledore's declaring Voldemort's destruction. He said James and Lily valiantly gave their lives protecting their son. Everybody in the wizarding world knows you are their secret keeper and they are bound to think you are the who sold James and Lily to Voldemort. Nobody knows about Pettigrew."

"Bellatrix was hunting me. That's why I had to pick Peter. Nobody would've thought about him. But the traitor sold them out. Now I'm going to destroy that rat."

"Sirius," Remus stopped him. "Don't do it. Harry needs you."

"Hagrid took him to Dumbledore. He's safe."

"No, he needs you. I'll take care of Peter. You are Harry's Godfather. If something happened to you, he'd be alone," Remus tried to explain.

"He won't be alone," Sirius said. "The world where a rat like him lives is not a safe one for Harry."

"James wouldn't want that." Sirius' heart stilled. "He's still with us. Lily too," Remus said casting a sideward glance at a sobbing Snape. "They're both with us. They wouldn't want their son's Godfather to go to Prison. They would want you to be with him and care for their little boy in a way they couldn't. Promise me, Sirius." Remus stressed. "Sirius please, promise me. You'll always be there for Harry."

Sirius clenched his fists and let out a cry. Remus caught Sirius hand and dragged him to James. Both friends crouched on either side of James' body. Remus put Sirius hand in James' and covered with his own. "For James," Remus whispered letting his own tears out finally. "We don't know what's going to happen, but we'll be there for your little boy," Remus whispered while Sirius sobbed uncontrollably.

Snape saw the raw emotions in the Gryffindors, through his hooded eyes. He made a silent promise to the girl he loved who sacrificed her life for her child. "For you, Lily," he whispered remembering the same eyes that peered at him through the rails of the crib when his own grief broke everything in his heart as he saw Lily's mangled body.

The two ethereal forms of James and Lily then smiled at each other and drifted off to the worlds unknown with a contentment that their little boy is going to be taken care of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta love to LuckyMascot, thank you so much, you are amazing. A big shout out to White Bishop for the beautiful summary, thank you so much.  
> The entire night of Voldemort's destruction was unclear in Canon. I built this chapter according to my understanding. I welcome any kind of clarifications and suggestions regarding the events. Thank you so much and please R and R.


	4. Quest

"I demand to see my Godson," Sirius yelled slamming his fists on the Headmaster's table.

Albus Dumbledore remained unperturbed at Sirius' outburst. He leaned back in his chair and answered, "Why don't you take a seat, Sirius."

Sirius gave him an incredulous look. "I'm not here to sit and have tea. Where is Harry?" He turned to his friend, who accompanied him to Hogwarts. Remus patted his shoulder and pushed him into the chair Dumbledore offered. "James and Lily entrusted him to me. You can't take him away from me, Professor."

"Headmaster, I understand you have your reasons to keep Harry hidden. But it is against James and Lily's wish. They wanted Sirius to take care of Harry," Remus said in a desperate voice. He knew that Harry is not only the one who needs his Godfather. Sirius needs Harry too, for the sake of his sanity. For the last few weeks, Remus had been with his friend, consoling him, as he spent all his time near James and Lily's graves.

"Remus, I'm aware of James and Lily's wishes. But the current circumstances demand some drastic measures," Dumbledore said pouring tea into the cups. He offered to the exhausted Marauders. "It's for the best."

"That's it? That's your answer," Sirius said pushing the cup away.

"Sirius, stop," said Remus. He then turned to Dumbledore and spoke, "It's killing him. Harry is the only one, who could bring peace to Sirius. He lost everything that night, Albus. If he lost Harry, he'll go completely mad. We might as well put him in the Azkaban."

Dumbledore sighed and got up from his chair. He moved to a door that contained a basin that was emitting a pure light. With his wand, he swirled the contents and moved back. Before he closed the door, Sirius and Remus got a glimpse of figure covered in enormous glasses and multi-colored shawls. "This is not about you, Sirius. There are bigger things in play. You have to make peace with this fact. Even though Harry is away from you, he is safe. That's all we have to wish for."

"This is unbelievable," Sirius grunted. He sprung from his chair making the chair fell back with force. "I'm going to find him." He cursed exited the room.

"Remus, you must stop him. We all know how Sirius could act. And in his unstable state, he is a threat not only to himself but also to Harry Potter," Dumbledore warned the werewolf as he stood to follow his friend outside.

Remus stopped and turned around. "We believed everything you said, Headmaster. Without a doubt, we followed your instructions. But still, we couldn't save James and Lily. I don't want to lose Sirius too." He proceeded to the door and whispered. "And you're wrong, Sirius would never hurt Harry. He would die before he let any kind of evil, befall Harry."

Remus rushed outside without waiting for an answer from the Headmaster. His worried eyes searched for Sirius. He didn't want to find him again in a downtrodden state. But to Remus' surprise, he heard a boisterous laughter. He carefully trudged forward and took a peek from behind the wall.

"Mr. Black," a stern voice sounded.

"You are as charming as ever, Minerva," Sirius said taking Professor McGonagall's hand. He kissed her knuckles and winked at her.

She narrowed her eyes at him but she didn't pull her hand back. But Remus knew even she could see the pain that was hidden behind his playful gesture. "Sirius Black, to what do I owe this pleasure."

"What? Can't I come and visit my most favorite Professor?" Sirius exclaimed placing his hands on his heart. "You wound me, Minerva."

She softened and slowly took her hand back and spoke with concern. "You're missing your godson."

Both Remus and Sirius knew that wasn't a question. Sirius slumped his shoulders and looked at the floor. "It's been almost a month, I haven't seen him."

Remus walked towards them and Sirius gave a wry smile. "Remus doesn't leave me alone even for a minute. He thinks I'm going to kill myself." Remus shook his head while Sirius continued, "Moony, my friend. I won't do any such thing. Not until I kill the rat with my bare hands."

"We haven't forgotten about Peter Pettigrew. He will be caught and will be punished. But you have to understand the most prominent thing here, Sirius Black. And that is keeping Harry Potter safe." she responded in a dejected voice. "And Professor Dumbledore accomplished that. It may not be a happy life, but he is secured and protected. What more could we want?"

She turned around and vanished around the corner before Sirius and Remus could process, what she said.

"Did she say, not a happy life?" Sirius growled.

Remus nodded solemnly. Sirius followed after Professor McGonagall. "Sirius, wait. It's no use," Remus stopped. "You know, she won't say a thing."

"She said, not a happy life, Remus. Where the hell did Dumbledore put Harry? I swear, if he put him in an orphanage, I'll rip his arms out."

"Sirius, calm down," Remus said in a thought. "I have an idea, follow me," Remus said moving forward. But Sirius didn't move his eyes glaring at the big Griffin statue leading to Dumbledore's office." Remus sighed and tugged Sirius by his arm. "I said, I have an idea. Come with me."

Sirius dragged his feet after Remus as he pulled him along. They bypassed various students in the corridor. The celebrations that started after the day Voldemort was destroyed, were still continuing. Sirius grabbed a banner that said, 'Harry Potter is our savior' and tore it into pieces. "He's just a boy," he said blasting another banner with his wand.

Remus didn't give up his hold on Sirius until they were outside the castle. As the fresh breezes of cool air hit his face, Sirius stopped. "Where are we going?"

"Who was the person, that took Harry from you?"

"Hagrid," Sirius said scratching the back of his neck in confusion. Then it hit him. "He must know where Dumbledore took Harry," he gasped. He gave a predatory growl and rushed towards Hagrid's hut. Remus rolled his eyes and followed his friend. He could hear Sirius' calls before he reached the gamekeeper's place.

"Hagrid, open the door. It's us," Sirius kept banging the door.

Remus sighed looking at the small ray of hope in his friend's eyes.

"Why isn't he opening the door?" Sirius asked his eyes returning to their panicked state.

"Probably gone down to Hogsmeade for a drink. Come on let's go to Three Broomsticks. I'm sure he'll be there," Remus said and before he could register, Sirius was way ahead in his path to Hogsmeade. Remus tried to follow but it was difficult to keep up with an excited Sirius. Very soon he heard a pop and Sirius disappeared. Remus groaned and urged his legs to go faster. He had to get back to Sirius Black before he landed himself in trouble.

Three Broomsticks was loud and boisterous. Barrels of mead were still flowing generously and People sang praises of the boy-who-lived, celebrating their freedom from the Dark Lord. Many were still afraid to utter his name. The fear of Voldemort's name had seeped into their hearts and brains, that couldn't be removed anytime soon. Remus looked for his shaggy-haired friend, but it was difficult to find him through the crowd. Just when he thought he couldn't find them, an extremely loud wail permeated the noise and Remus knew who Hagrid was.

"Jus' a littl' babe," Hagrid cried downing a large tumbler of Rosmerta's mead, down his throat. "Destroyed the powerful Dark wizard eve' existed."

"To Harry Potter," the gathered crowd chanted.

Remus sighed as he saw Sirius approach the table currently Hagrid occupied.

"Sirius," Hagrid cried pulling him to the chair beside him. "How're yeh?"

Sirius nodded letting out a mirthless chuckle. Remus stayed back observing the exchange, but he stood ready to interfere if the things took an ugly turn.

"Hagrid," Sirius pulled him into a hug. He took a glass from a floating tray and made a toast. "To James and Lily."

"To the Potters," the crowd repeated.

"So much of life ahead. So young to die," Hagrid sobbed again. "Los' lives protecting their boy."

Sirius threw the entire contents down his throat and banged the tumbler on the table.

"Yes, their boy. My Godson," Sirius said. "I haven't seen him since that day."

Hagrid patted his back making him stumble. "I know, littl' Harry."

"If only I could see him one last time," Sirius said looking at Hagrid.

Hagrid nodded his head. "We all wish tha'. He held onto my littl' finger. He wouldn' le' go. But I had to give him. But Professor Dumbledore said he wouldn' be safe here." Hagrid said his large body sagging into the chair. His eyes turned droopy and his voice slurred. "No' safe here."

"True, very true Hagrid. Harry wouldn't be safe here," Sirius said shaking him awake. "But where would he be safe?" Hagrid was drifting off into a haze and Sirius was trying desperately to keep him awake. At least until he slipped the information about where Harry was kept hidden. "Where is Harry, Hagrid? Where did Dumbledore hide him."

"No' safe here," Hagrid mumbled again and started snoring.

Sirius growled and started looking around. Remus sensed trouble and was by his friend's side in the next moment. He knew this was the only chance they could clamber out an answer from Hagrid. He grabbed a near by glass and whispered, "Augamenti." A fresh jet of water filled the glass. He pushed into Sirius' hands and nodded.

Sirius sprinkled water on Hagrid's face. But it didn't help. Sirus tried sprinkling a little bit more this time but the half-giant remained asleep. Sirus' patience was wearing thin. He emptied the remaining water on his head and the half-giant shot up straight in his seat. "Wha' happened?"

Sirius pulled him closer by his coat and asked, "Where did Dumbledore hide Harry?"

Hagrid's eyes rolled into the back of his head and he remained uncooperative but he mumbled something unintelligible that couldn't be heard over the loud chatter in the pub.

"Where is Harry?" Sirius asked desperately. "Please tell me, Hagrid. I'll not stop until I find him. I'll tear everything apart to get to my Godson. And your Professor Dumbledore cannot stop me."

Remus didn't know what Hagrid understood in his inebriated state, but he saw a flicker of concern pass in his small beady eyes. "Dumbledore knows what's best. Harry's living with the only family he has."

"Only family," Sirius aggrieved voice resounded. "I'm his family and I'm still here."

But it was no use, Hagrid had already dozed off on the table. Sirius slumped on the chair in resignation. "Total waste. He didn't say anything."

Remus shook his head with a smile. "But he did."

"What do you mean?"

"He said, Harry's living with the only family he has," Remus said throwing a cautioned look around the pub. "Think Sirius, who is left in Harry's immediate family. James and Lily both lost their parents. The only one remaining is,"

"Lily's sister," Sirius said his eyes widening.

Remus nodded as Harry's location became clear. "From what we heard. She was a horrible person. Why did Dumbledore leave him there?"

"I don't care. Now we know where Harry is. We just need to get him back. But where the hell does Lily's sister live in the muggle world?" But Sirius face turned predatory as he uttered the next words. "I think I just the know the person, who can tell us." 

* * *

"Are you sure, we got the right place?" Remus asked as Sirius maneuvered them through narrow lanes. The neighborhood looked calm and controlled except for the murky house at the end.

"Positive," Sirius said approaching the said building with caution. "I followed Snivellus to this house, once, with James."

"Do I want to know why?" Remus asked shaking his head.

"It's not that bad," Sirius said in a low voice. "Lily lost her parents before her wedding. So James never visited her childhood home. When Snape taunted James, that he doesn't know Lily like he does, we followed him. But before we could get him for what he said, Lily came back. And you could guess what would have happened afterward."

Remus smiled as James and Lily's faces danced in front of his eyes. Sirius joined him and closed his eyes relishing the nostalgic moment.

"Come on," Remus nudged him pointing to the door.

As Sirius lifted his hand to knock, a creak sounded, indicating them someone was opening the door from inside. They looked at each other and ducked into the immediate alley. Remus was quick and was able to hide but Sirius didn't seem so lucky. He had to take immediate action and he transformed into his Animagus form without a second thought.

"Doggy," a child squealed and caught onto Sirius' neck. Sirius looked into the child's eyes and saw a familiar pair of gray eyes looking back at him. Sirius groaned as the child had a death grip on his neck.

"Draco," a stern voice made the child startle and his tiny hands left Sirius' neck. "You should know better than to touch a stray and filthy mutt. Get away from there." Sirius raised his snout in defiance at Lucius Malfoy and darted his tongue out to lick at the toddler's face. Draco giggled in happiness and gave a slobbery kiss to Sirius.

"Draco," Lucius said in a louder voice. "Get here, now."

"Lucius," a silky voice drawled and Sirius found Severus Snape at the door. "It's just a dog."

"Sevvus. Can I keep him?" Draco said clinging onto Sirius' neck.

"It's not mine, Draco. If you want, we could get a puppy for you. But for now, leave the dog and come to your father," Snape consoled the boy. Draco left Sirius with a pout on his tiny face and returned to his father's side.

"You promise?" Draco asked blinking.

"Yes," said Snape uncomfortably.

"We must be off," Lucius said trying to take Draco's hand. But he cringed looking at his tiny palms. "Dobby," Lucius called.

A pop sounded and a tiny squeak of voice followed, "Master."

"Take Draco with you. He got muddied playing with a stray dog," Lucius said pointing to Draco.

"Lucius, we are in a muggle neighborhood," Snape hissed.

Lucius sighed, "Relax, Severus. Muggles cannot see elves. I don't understand why you live here in this forsaken place amidst those muggles."

"Dobby, take Draco inside and you can apparate from there," Snape advised the elf. As the elf guided the whining toddler inside, Snape turned to Lucius. "This was my parents' home. I loathed my father, but I have some prized memories here," Snape said his gaze lingering to a cheery home with cherry trees, which stood afar.

"I'll be on my way. Thanks for looking out for us. Malfoys' won't forget your help," Lucius said taking two steps inside. Sirius heard the telltale sounds of apparition from the inside.

Snape sighed and leaned onto the door his gaze still fixed on the house with cherry trees.

"So, is this house, a front for Death Eaters' meetings?" Sirius said transforming into his human self. "And you are trying to induct the youngest Malfoy into your group. Marvelous."

Snape was startled in his stance and narrowed his eyes at Sirius. "Black, this is a muggle neighborhood."

"Calm down, Greasy boy, nobody saw me," Sirius said sauntering into Snape's house.

"How did you apparate here? I didn't hear a sound," Snape said trying to close the door.

"That's not for you to know," Remus said stalling his actions and stepped into his house.

"Take your pet and get out of my house, werewolf."

"As if we want to stay in this filthy house," Sirius said picking an expensive bottle of liquor from the cabinet. "Not a bad choice," he said taking a big gulp.

"Sirius, stop," Remus said in an impatient voice. He then turned to Snape and spoke. "Severus, Lily was your childhood friend. So you know about her family, right?"

Snape scowled but didn't answer Remus' question, but he didn't deny it either.

"How was Lily's sister?"

Snape scoffed. "Why do you ask about her?"

"Please, just tell us," Remus asked grabbing the bottle from Sirius' hand and placing it back on the cabinet wall.

"No, tell me first, why you are interested in Lily's sister?" Snape said narrowing his eyes.

"We don't need to answer a person like you. Tell me where her sister is," Sirius argued in an arrogant tone.

"You really think you are so precious and important that people answer you even though you insult them. Remember Black, I was the one who kept you from going to Azkaban."

Sirius growled and tried to lunge at Snape.

"Enough," Remus' voice boomed. "Sirius, we need to find Harry and these petty arguments are keeping you from his location. So for Merlin's sake, keep quiet for a minute." He then turned to Snape and spoke with a distaste. "We believe Harry is with Lily's sister. Professor Dumbledore thinks he's going to be safe with her. But we need to get Harry back. So any information about her whereabouts would be helpful."

"She's a pathetic woman. She was jealous of Lily's magic," Snape said lost in thought. "Lily once told me she had written to Dumbledore for admission, but she was denied. From then she hated the very existence of magic. Why would Dumbledore leave that brat with her? Dumbledore's safety plans are futile. We have seen how it worked out with Lily."

Sirius and Remus exchanged nervous glances. Sirius moved forward and asked in a weak voice "Where does she live?"

Snape turned around and said, "I don't know. She doesn't live in her parents' house anymore."

Sirius was about to retaliate, but Remus stopped him. "Could you point us to her parents' house?"

Snape took a deep breath and turned towards the door. He opened the door and breathed, "The one with the cherry trees." As Remus and Sirius hurried out of the door, Snape yelled after them. "Don't ever try to set your foot in my home again," and banged the door shut.

* * *

"He is in there," Sirius breathed as his eyes welled up.

It wasn't difficult to find out the address of Petunia Dursley from her parents' house' current owners. After Lily's parents passed away, Petunia had sold their old house and moved to a different location. Remus had to engage the owners in a polite conversation, without letting Sirius blow up. At the end of an hour chat, they exited the house with a slip in their hand.

4 Privet Drive

Little Whinging

Surrey

The letters glimmered in the twilight. Sirius' palms became sweaty and a nervous anticipation ran through him.

"Everything will be alright. Let's go meet your Godson," Remus said giving him a nod.

Sirius step faltered as he opened the little gate and entered a maintained garden. Each and every step he took towards the door, made his heart thump. He reached the door and took a deep breath and lifted his hand to knock on the door. After two knocks, the door opened and a bony woman with a neck longer than a broomstick answered. "Yes?"

"We are looking for Harry Potter."


	5. Reunion

"We're looking for Harry Potter."

The door was slammed shut on Sirius' face and he stood there shocked, at the unexpected reaction.

"What was that?" Remus stepped forward looking confusingly at the door. "Are you sure we got the address, correct?" he asked looking at the slip of paper in Sirius' hand.

"It is. According to Snivellus, Lily's sister was a horrible woman. She pretty much fits that description," Sirius said scratching his chin. "Dumbledore might have warned them, to keep out anybody that came looking for Harry."

"Let's try one more time," Remus knocking the door.

The door remained shut for a long time and then they heard some shuffling from the inside. A beefy man with a big stout mustache opened the door this time and growled at Sirius and Remus. "What do you want?"

Sirius started to answer his question with a colorful expletive, but Remus stopped him. "As we already told the lady, we are looking for Harry Potter."

"Nobody with that name lives here," Vernon said shutting the door on their faces.

"Something seems very wrong," Remus said peering at the door, trying to listen to the hushed voices behind it.

"Let me take care of that," Sirius said taking his wand out.

"For Godric's sake, Sirius. Harry is inside. We have to be careful."

"Yes, of course, Harry," Sirius said immediately retreating. He pushed Remus aside and knocked at the door with hard thrusts.

The large man opened the door again. "If you bother us again, I'm going to call the police," he started to hiss. But he swallowed as he saw the intimidating duo. "This is harassment. You will be thrown into the jail. I'm going to call the police," he said and tried to slam the door again.

"No, you're not," Sirius said barging inside. "Now tell me where my Godson is?"

Remus strode in after Sirius and approached the woman who was standing behind the man who yelled at them.

"Get away from her," the man yelled again. "I told you we have no Harry Potter here."

"Liar," Sirius said advancing on him.

A telltale sign of frustration graced Remus' face and he sighed. "We know he is here." He turned to the long bony woman and sighed. "Mrs. Dursley, we are friends of Lily and James." The woman scowled at the name of Lily. But Remus didn't hesitate as he kept going on. "We are very sorry for your loss. Lily was like my sister too. She was a fierce yet gentle, kind and caring witch."

"That freak means nothing to me," Petunia snarled at the word, 'witch'. "I don't care if she went and got blown up with her worthless husband."

"That's it, out of my house, now," Vernon Dursley barked. "Let me get my shot gun," he said turning to a spot on the wall.

"You mean this one," Sirius said holding the said gun pointed directly at Vernon.

Petunia shrieked and lunged towards the kitchen. Vernon Dursley got himself plastered to the wall and was eyeing the gun with panic. "We swore we'll never let another freak enter this house."

Sirius' eyes had a predatory gleam as he walked towards him. "If you call any of us freaks, one more time, I will give you a glimpse of what a freak can do."

For a minute Remus thought, the beefy man had died with shock, but a trail of liquid leaking from his pants cleared all his doubts. He wrinkled his nose in disgust, tapping Sirius on his shoulder and pointed to the mess Vernon Dursley made in his own living room.

Sirius guffawed and moved the gun to a side. "That wasn't done by us freaks, you muggle. That's all you."

"Petunia, get him. Give him away," he shrieked and wobbled his body to his wife in the kitchen. "We swore when we took him in, we'll never allow any of their abnormal kind into this house."

"But Vernon, the letter said, he has to stay here," Petunia spoke in hushed tones.

Remus and Sirius exchanged confused glances. Interrupting Petunia and her husband's voices, a tiny babble reached Sirius' ears. His eyes gleamed with joy and before Remus could stop him, he rushed towards the kitchen.

"Harry," Sirius called looking around the kitchen. But his eyes fell on a bulky boy who was strapped to a high chair. Sirius furrowed his forehead and spoke, "You're not Harry."

Petunia and Vernon moved in front of the boy, shielding him from Sirius' view. "You will not come near him," they said in tandem voices.

"I don't want to come anywhere near him," Sirius said with a revolted look. "If he is not Harry, where is he?"

The couple looked at each other, their panic clearly visible in their eyes.

"I can rescind my offer about coming to your kid," Sirius said raising his voice. "We all know Harry was left with you people. Just tell us where he is, we'll be out of your hair."

"Tell him, Petunia. I don't want these freaks under my roof even for a second," Vernon barked.

Petunia kept her hands on their son and muttered an incoherent word.

"What?" Sirius asked scrunching his face.

"Sirius, here," Remus called him with a painful voice from the hallways and Sirius rushed outside.

He saw Remus standing in front of a small door under the stairs. He didn't understand what Remus was doing in front of a small storage cupboard. "Remus, where?" he asked with a tired expression. Remus didn't answer but continued to gaze under the stairs into the tiny cupboard. Sirius turned his head and followed Remus' gaze and his heart dropped into his stomach.

In that cramped space, only stray spiders to keep him company, sleeping on a bed tougher than a rock was Harry Potter. It had been only a month but he had lost half of his weight. The signs of tears were clearly present on his tiny exhausted face. Sirius couldn't stop the tears now falling from his own eyes. Was it happiness on seeing his Godson or the pain in seeing him in that state, he didn't understand. He extended his hand and gingerly touched his head. Even in his sleep, the little babe flinched at his touch and Sirius drew his hand back.

"What's wrong with him, Remus?" Sirius asked brushing his tears away.

Remus just shook his head, his face still in shock. "Take him, Let's get out of here."

Sirius didn't need to be told another time. He pushed his hand under Harry's sleeping form and lifted him up. Harry's fragile body was trembling against his godfather, as Sirius gathered into him. But as he hugged the tiny boy into his chest, he relaxed. The boy's thumb slowly moved to his mouth and he snuggled into his Godfather. There were no stopping Sirius' tears as he caressed his hair, moving it away from his scarred forehead. He peppered his little face with a million kisses and letting a smile graze his lips.

"You're going to wake him up," the werewolf said with a smile.

"You got the boy, now get away from my house," Vernon Dursley scowled, making Harry shudder in sleep.

Sirius took a deep breath to stop himself from tearing the Vernon Dursley's non-existent neck. Fortunately, Remus jumped into the conversation to stop the apparent murder.

"I understand you are muggles, but this is uncommon even among them. Why is Harry sleeping here?" Remus asked. Sirius gave a side glance at his friend and saw how hard he was trying to control his anger. Everyone knew about Sirius' hot-headedness, but nobody knew about the beast, that always lingered in the werewolf's eyes.

"That boy is a nightmare," Vernon started. "We have been so kind to him. We accepted him into our household, provided food on our plates and a roof over his head. But the ungrateful runt kept screaming and crying. Did his worthless parents raise him in a barn? Ahh!"

Sirius didn't understand for a minute what was happening, but the large man was hanging onto the wall only with the support of Remus' hand.

"Put me down," he cried with a helpless voice.

"Petunia, help me. They are mad people. Put me down, you, despicable person."

"Vernon," his wife rushed to him. "I'll call the police. They'll take care of them."

"Yes, do that," Sirius said giving out a maniacal chuckle. "Then you'll be correctly punished for what you did to a little boy," Sirius said with a gasp as he saw the bruises on Harry's little arms. "You are animals," Sirius lunged at the bony woman while her husband was still struggling at the strong restraint of Remus Lupin.

"Pa foo."

Sirius stopped and turned his eyes to the boy in his arms.

"Pa foo," Harry Potter gave a beaming smile, his usual sparkling emerald eyes heavy and red with the exhaustion of crying.

Sirius clutched him to his heart. Remus dropped the bumbling man to the floor and rushed to them. "Harry," he said taking him from Sirius' arms.

"Uncle Moo'y," Harry squealed jumping in Remus' arms. "Mumma? Dada?" He asked trying to look behind them with enthusiastic eyes.

"They are dead, you insolent boy."

"For god's sake, stop it, Vernon. Don't you see, they are beasts. They will do anything to us," Petunia mumbled pulling Vernon into the kitchen.

Sirius had enough. He turned to his friend and his Godson and spoke in a deadly quiet voice. "Remus, please wait for me outside."

Remus gave a scathing glare at the Dursleys and hissed. "I was the only one who could stop Sirius from tearing you apart. And I wanted to do that. But after seeing Harry like this, I know you deserve everything Sirius can unleash on you." He turned to Sirius and said, "Don't take too much time. It's cold and dark outside. We don't Harry to suffer anymore."

"Pa foo, come," Harry said tugging on Sirius' jacket with his tiny fist.

"I will never leave you again, kiddo. But I have to properly say thank you to these disgusting people for treating you like this. You wait for me with Uncle Moony," Sirius said trying to loosen Harry's grip on his shirt.

"You po'mise?" Harry asked still holding tightly.

"I promise," Sirius said pressing a kiss to his brow.

Remus turned to the door and whispered to Sirius, "Give them hell." Sirius growled his face twisting in anger. Remus gave a satisfied smile and opened the door, welcoming the chilly night air.

He made Harry sit on his knees and dropped on the stairs that led to the Dursley's home. A shriek reverberated from the house. Harry's green eyes went wide and he looked alarmed. Remus took his wand out and surreptitiously waved a silencing charm around the house, keeping any terrifying noises inside. "Sirius can be quite noisy and dramatic", he said looking at the wide-eyed toddler.

He giggled and scooted closer to Remus. "Mumma, Dada?" he asked again.

"They are always with you, Harry. You can't see them, but they're here, in your heart. They want you to be happy. They want to see you smile, laugh, and play. They want to see you grow up a good person," Remus said, as his eyes misted again, looking at the innocence in the toddler's eyes who wouldn't understand that he won't be seeing his parents again. But Harry, as if he understood Remus' words, just snuggled into him.

"Are you hungry?" Remus asked caressing his cheeks.

Harry flinched at those words and shook his head.

"It's okay to be hungry, Harry," he said trying to understand why he flinched at the word hunger. Did his aunt starve him? "Now tell me, are you hungry?"

Harry timidly nodded his head. Remus bit his lip to stop a curse word that tried to escape his mouth. How did Dumbledore trust these pathetic arseholes?

"Come on, we'll get you some milk," he said rising from his spot. As he opened the door he was shocked to see the changes that happened to that room within a short period of few minutes.

The whole room was a wreck. All the furniture was torn down and Remus could see few wisps of smoke coming from some places. There were no signs of the Dursleys or Sirius in the living room.

"Sirius," he called moving into the kitchen. "Harry needs some milk."

"Here. I figured after all the time we spent here, they could at least offer us some dinner," Sirius appeared beside him in the next moment. He was holding a bottle of milk, a box of pastries and biscuits and what appeared to be a large piece of ham. "Let's get out of here."

Remus transfigured the table cloth into a basket and stuffed all the food in there.

"Drink up, pup," Sirius said looking with adoration in his eyes.

Harry took the bottle and started sipping it with a smile on his face.

"Should I worry about hiding the bodies?" Remus asked with a smile.

Sirius laughed, after a long time. "Not today, Moony. Let's just say, they won't be calling anyone else freaks."

Remus cocked an eyebrow and Sirius pointed to the corner of the kitchen.

There stood Vernon and Petunia Dursley plastered to the wall. But the only difference was Vernon was not Beefy and bulky anymore and Petunia wasn't bony and long. They looked like their physical personalities were interchanged. With Vernon now sporting Petunia's bony body and long neck, while Petunia was as large as the table in front of her. But they bore identical expressions of shock, while their son rolled in laughter in front of them.

"This is priceless, well done, Pads," Remus said chuckling and patting Sirius' shoulder.

"Transfiguration is one thing I'm very good at, thanks to Minerva."

Harry's eyelids dropped as sleep took over his tiny form.

"Come on, let's get going," Sirius said. "We need to get out of here before ministry people came along."

"Is the change, permanent?" Remus asked scrunching his eyebrows.

"No. But they don't need to know it," Sirius chuckled guiding his friend and his Godson out of the wreckage, thinking about the future he has to plan to keep the little life in his hands, safe and secure.


	6. Happenstance

"Wake up, Harry. It's birthday time," Sirius spoke stroking the toddler's messy hair.

Harry's eyes shot up in the next instant and he squealed in joy. His Godfather joined in his happiness and imitated his excited squeals.

"Le's go, flying," the newly turned three yr. old excitedly piped in.

"Sure mate, but not right now. We need to eat the delicious breakfast that's waiting for us, downstairs," Sirius said donning the responsible role.

Harry's lips curled into a tiny pout and crossed his hands, "No."

Sirius' eyes twinkled, looking at Harry, who resembled his father so much when he tried to argue. He chuckled and reached to the far end of the side table to retrieve Harry's glasses. Another trait, that related the boy to his father so closely. He then tucked Harry's lower lip back into his mouth and placed the glasses on his eyes. Harry was still trying to perfect Lily's glare and his attempts made him look adorable. Here he was, the perfect mixture of both his friends, who are still with him, in the form of their little boy.

Sirius laughed and lifted the little boy up on his shoulders and strolled out of the room. He deposited Harry on the high chair and called, "Kreacher, breakfast."

Harry clapped his hands and yelled, "Pancakes."

"Of course," Sirius gave a smile filled with affection. He then turned towards the kitchen and yelled louder, "Kreacher, Pancakes. Now."

A sudden pop sounded and an old elf appeared with a food-laden plate, wobbling in his fragile hands. "My blood traitor master, requesting disgusting food. Oh! My poor mistress. She'll be devastated." The elf laid the plate on the table and sniffled.

"Enough," Sirius growled making the elf yelp. "Away, now." He said throwing the elf a disgusted look as Kreacher cowered back.

As the elf disappeared with a pop, Sirius turned to Harry who was looking at the place the elf just vanished in a quizzical expression, "Kreacher? sad?"

"Forget that thing," Sirius said shaking his head. "Now who's ready for some delicious pancakes?" He said wiggling the plate in front of the toddler's eyes.

"Me," Harry said raising his hands.

Sirius gave him a general helping of the pancakes and coated them with copious amounts of syrup. "Tuck in, kiddo."

As Harry lunged into the pancakes, Sirius thoughts turned to the elf and its disparaging behavior. Life for them hadn't been easy after they have rescued Harry from the Dursleys. Sirius' main mission was to keep Harry safe from the trouble. With Voldemort's followers still on the loose and Dumbledore on their tail, Britain didn't seem safe at that moment. He did the only thing he thought was right at that time. He vanished to the North American continent with his Godson. Remus insisted them to stay back. But Sirius remained adamant. Remus cautioned Sirius as he began his journey, it's not going to be easy with a small child in an entirely new place.

But it turns out it wasn't difficult. Life was content and easy. Nobody knew or cared if the babe was the boy-who-lived. That was more than enough for Sirius. He decided at that moment, he would stay there forever and give Harry the best childhood possible. But one day an owl about his deranged mother made him grudgingly return to Britain.

Walburga Black had finally bid the mortal world, goodbye and as the last remaining heir of the Black Family, Sirius was summoned by his uncle Alphard Black. He had demanded Sirius had to come at once to take up the responsibility of his house. Sirius couldn't deny the wishes of the person, who had once guided him when he ran away from his family. Grudgingly, he had returned to Britain just a month ago. He hated his parents' house before, even though they were not alive now, the house was still a reminder of everything evil and he loathed to live here. But his uncle insisted that he should be living there to claim the inheritance. For Sirius, his inheritance was equal to the hair on his little toe, but he couldn't argue with the fact that he would be able to provide a better life for Harry, as a head of the Black Family. And the added advantage of a house without his mother was definitely appealing. So he accepted the house and the deranged elf that came with it.

"All done," Harry said lifting his empty plate. "Le's go flying," Harry said pushing his glasses up his nose.

Sirius gave a bright smile, pushing his dreary thoughts away. "Come on, Harry. Before Moony stops by and ruins our plans, we better be off." Harry squealed loudly as Sirius started tucking him in an outer gear with sufficient padding. Harry patiently waited as Sirius checked for all the accident-prone parts and gave a satisfied nod. "You're all set."

Harry toddled after Sirius as he ventured to his shed. Harry excitedly pointed to the broomstick, but Sirius with a smile pulled his motorcycle outside. "Broom?" the little tyke asked blinking his eyes.

"Soon, buddy. But today we are going for a zoom-zoomy ride," Sirius said coaxing his head into a small helmet. Harry's bright eyes were still fixed on the broomstick. Sirius sighed and lifted him to make him sit on the seat of the motorcycle. He looked into his eyes and softly spoke, "As soon as you turn five, I promise you we'll get the fastest broom in the whole wide world."

"Well, is that true? If it really is the fastest broom in the whole wide world, we need to wait until you are eleven," another voice joined them.

"Uncle Moo'y," Harry said with a tiny pout. "No broom. My birthday."

"Yes mate, it's your birthday. But, for once, what Sirius did was right. It is a grown up broom, prongslet," Remus said giving an appreciative look at Sirius' actions.

Harry knew his demands are not going to be met today, so he gave up and sat on the motorcycle.

Remus turned to Sirius and said, "Are you sure, Sirius? It's not even a month. Everybody would know about Harry."

"You can relax, Remus. We are going into the muggle world," Sirius said hopping behind Harry.

"Really, Sirius? Muggle world? I don't know the rules in America, but here Muggles are still not supposed to see us," Remus interjected.

Sirius winked at him and pressed a tiny knob on the handle. In the next instant, the motorcycle along with Harry and Sirius vanished. Remus' eyes widened and they reappeared in the next moment followed by a squealing laughter. "Invisibility Booster, my friend," Sirius said with a proud look on his face. He applied an extra sticking charm to Harry's little bottom placing him into the carriage attached to the motorcycle. He secured a harness to put him close to his body.

Remus couldn't take his eyes of the pair. He couldn't help but admire how much Sirius had grown in the past one year when he was left alone to take care of the little boy. Remus remembered Sirius' desperate owls asking how to console a toddler who wakes up in the middle of night shuddering in fear, asking for his lost parents. It seemed they have found their solace in each other. Remus brushed a tear that escaped his eye when Harry put his hands around Sirius' neck and gave him a smacking kiss on his cheek.

"Be here, later in the afternoon. We are going to have a birthday party," Sirius said to Remus and zoomed off into the air and disappeared not a moment later.

"It's great," Harry yelled as Sirius maneuvered the motorcycle in the air. The warm morning air was tickling the tyke making him laugh and Sirius couldn't be happier.

"Padfoot," Harry called pointing to a series of clouds. "Deer."

Sirius squinted his eyes to see a big cloud that was shaped in the form of two deer. A stag and a doe. He glanced at them and quietly spoke, "Did you come to see your kid? He's just amazing. Just like you, Prongs and Lily. I wish you were here, to see him grow."

Suddenly, the bike sputtered and there were flashes of light around them, but it went all still. Before the duo could take a relieved breath it happened again. And then it occurred to Sirius, "We must be running out of petrol."

"Sirius?"

"No worries, buddy. We are going to take a short break," Sirius said lowering the motorcycle to a road level. But the invisibility booster gave them away as they landed in the middle of a farmer's market. Sirius immediately adjusted and parked the motorcycle to a side, trying to make them look like they just drove there, and not some weird people who had a flying mishap, but their whole act wasn't missed by a curious pair of eyes.

Sirius chided himself and slowly unbuckled Harry. He still needed to hone his Godfather skills. How stupid he can be, to forget to fill up the petrol tank. Another thing added to his list. He picked up the little guy and slumped him on his shoulders, looking around. Before he could turn there was a tug on his shirt and he glanced down.

"Hullo," a little girl with bright brown eyes greeted him. "Did you just fall from the sky?"

Sirius was shocked at her words. He started slowly shaking his head with a forceful laughter. But his godson took the opportunity of answering the little girls' question. "Yes, we fly on a motorcycle."

"Harry," Sirius laughed even louder trying to mask the uncomfortable situation. "No, we weren't flying." He then turned to the little girl in front of him who was looking at them with intriguing eyes. "It's impossible. How can anybody fly?"

"Broomsticks?" the little girl said with a beatific smile. "I have seen before."

Sirius' face burst into a bright smile, "Is that so? So you are not a Muggle."

"No, she's a witch," a tall and lanky man, who had come up behind her, whispered. "Are you wizards, then?"

Sirius' expression suddenly became guarded and he nodded his head curtly. But his head started swirling with the ideas of how to get away from this place, before the nosy people in front of him, got further into the details.

"Richard Granger," the man extended his hand in greeting. "Imagine our surprise when an old man with a funny hat and a long beard, knocks on our front door, claiming an explanation for the weird things happening around us. Turns out our little Hermione is a witch."

Sirius' mind fell into a train of thought. He returned the man's greeting and answered, "Sirius Black." His eyes were fixed on the man's face trying to notice any kind of recognition. But Richard Granger just smiled and the little girl giggled. That caught Sirius' attention and he gently lowered Harry to the ground. Sirius then crouched on the ground and looked at the girl's laughing eyes. "So you are Hermione."

"Yes, I'm Hermione Granger and you are Sirius Black," she giggled again covering her mouth.

"What's funny?" Harry asked shrugging his shoulders.

"No idea. Let's ask the girl," Sirius said pointing to Hermione.

"I saw Sirius in the sky. You are a dog star," she said chuckling.

"Sirius is a d..," Harry started to say, but Sirius gently clamped his hand Harry's mouth, stopping him from revealing too much.

"Hermione, that's rude. You don't make fun of others' names. You have to apologize, darling," her father admonished.

"Sorry," she said trying to stifle the chuckle.

"It's alright, little one. I love being called a dog," Sirius said with a wink. "How do you know about broomsticks?"

"I know many things. I read about broomsticks. Mr. Dumbledore told me."

"I love brooms. I get a big broom, soon," Harry chimed ecstatically.

"Are you not afraid?" Hermione asked with her big brown eyes going wide.

"No, I brave," Harry said trying to expand his tiny chest. "You come with me?"

"No, I hate flying," Hermione said moving behind his father.

Harry's face fell at her declaration and Sirius scooped him up immediately. "Not everyone likes, flying Harry. Your mum didn't like it either."

"You both are having a father and son time, on this lovely Saturday?" Richard Granger asked lifting Hermione.

"It's my Birthday," Harry declared pumping his fists. "We go flying."

"Happy birthday," Hermione said happily. She reached for a small purse hanging from her shoulder and picked out a small glittery pencil. She pushed it into Harry's hands. Harry looked enthralled by the flying snitches on the pencil. "I got it from Diagon Alley."

Sirius laughed and turned to Richard Granger, "We recently moved to London. As he said, it's Harry's birthday."

"Can Hermine come? Please, please, pafoo?"

"Can we go, Papa. I want to go to Harry's birthday?"

"Sorry pumpkin. We shouldn't impose. We can sure arrange for a playdate."

But Sirius couldn't deny the birthday boy's wish. At least he would have a safe playmate for the near future. "It would be our pleasure," Sirius said extending his hand. "If this intelligent witch came to our party."

Both the children's faces brightened up and Sirius couldn't help but believe that this was a good thing.

"We are at this address," Sirius said conjuring a piece of parchment that contained the address of his home. He passed it into Richard's extended hand and said, "if you could come by this afternoon, it would be great. You see Harry has no friends here."

"Sure, we'll be there. Hermione seems quite excited too. Do you need help with the motorcycle?"

"Thank you for your offer. But I think we have to resort to magical methods," Sirius thanked the man for his kind offer.

"Fine then, I'll leave it to you. Nice meeting you, Mr. Black. We'll see you in the afternoon," Richard Granger said and walked away taking the smiling girl who was still talking to Harry in animated gestures.

He turned to Harry and spoke, "It seems we have to cut short out flying trip, buddy."

Nothing seemed to deter Harry's bright spirits that morning as he looked at his new friend. Sirius put Harry back into his carriage and moved them to a secluded spot. He apparated them back to the Grimmauld place, thinking whether he had done a good thing or a mistake by inviting a little Muggle-born girl to his house.


	7. Genesis

Sirius Black was pacing in front of the fireplace. His eyes fixed on the big clock on the wall.

"You are going to dig holes in the carpet."

"Filth! Scum! By-Products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers," high-pitched shrieks resonated all through the Grimmauld Place.

"Shut-up, you foul woman," Sirius snapped and brandished his wand. "Evanesco!" he yelled. When the portrait remained unchanged another spell emerged from Sirius' wand, "Silencio!"

But there was no reaction and the stream of profanities didn't stop. Sirius' frustration was ascending new levels as his efforts remained futile. "What shall I do? Fiendfyre?"

"Was her portrait like that, when you moved here?" Remus asked rubbing his chin.

"Well kind of, Harry finds it funny so that didn't bother me before. But a muggle born girl is coming. And I'm worried." Sirius said wincing as the portrait spurted another disgusting word.

Remus shook his head and lowered Sirius' hand. "Harry's napping, right? Did you ward Harry's room?"

Sirius nodded his head with dejection. "Why the hell did I invite that little girl here? I'm going to frighten her," Sirius said freaking out. "I'm going to scar her childhood."

Remus strode forward and looked at the portrait. At the sight of the werewolf, the woman in the portrait started wailing loudly. "My poor Mistress," the elf appeared beside the portrait and joined in her sobs. "Her unworthy son, causing her immense distress."

"Shut up, you little bugger," Sirius cried turning his wand to the little creature.

"Sirius, you're not helping," Remus calmly said, ignoring the slurs coming from the portrait. He ran his fingers along the edges. "It appears like a permanent sticking charm." As his fingers brushed on of the corners, there was a sharp prick on his finger and blood started oozing. Remus brushed the wound with his finger and said, "And I think she took extreme precautions that nobody would ever try to take it off. It is radiating dark magic. Only a surge of powerful light magic would be able to unhinge the portrait."

"What do we do now? They're going to be here, soon."

Remus placed his hands on Sirius' shoulders and turned his attention on him. "Why don't you check all the preparations? We don't want any mishaps happening on this very special day. I'll take care of this portrait."

"Everything's ready, Moony. Except for this ugly and vile thing," Sirius snapped.

"Did you get all his presents wrapped up, cake, balloons, everything?" When Sirius impatiently nodded his head. "Go on, Sirius. Check if that elf had not ruined anything," Remus said casting a doubtful glance at the whimpering elf beside her Mistress' portrait.

Sirius' eyes narrowed on the elf. "I wouldn't put anything past that bloody thing. Let me check," Sirius said moving towards the kitchen.

Remus stopped him by his shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Instruct him to stay out of sight, in front of those new people."

Sirius nodded his head in understanding and yelled, strolling inside, "Kreacher follow me, now."

"My poor mistress, I'll take care of your home," the elf mumbled between his sobs and disapparated with a loud pop.

Remus now got the window he was looking. The frame surrounding the portrait was sparkling with dark magic. The old lady had taken every possible precaution to keep her position untouched in her house. If they could do anything, it has to be an external thing without actually touching the portrait. His eyes fell on the windows and the curtains covering them. A simple but working solution flashed in his mind.

In the meanwhile, Sirius was busy overseeing all the decorations, after banishing the elf to his confines in a kitchen cupboard. He was busy hanging up a dancing Happy Birthday banner with little broomsticks and snitches. It suddenly appeared calm and beautifully quiet. He couldn't believe his own ears for a moment. The hurtful slurs and the malign curses vanished from the atmosphere.

With a beatific smile on his face, he rushed back to his friend, "Did it work? Did you manage to blast her off the wall?"

"No, but I think I've managed a temporary solution," Remus said pointing to the curtains which were now hanging in front of the portrait. "Sadly, she can still hear us and that would trigger an immediate reaction of insults. But the fortunate thing is, she can't see what's happening in the house or who is coming to the house. So if we don't disturb these curtains, we may actually contain her."

"It's brilliant, Moony," Sirius said pulling Remus into a hug. "I know you could do it, my friend. This clearly shows you are the brains behind the Marauders' map."

An awkward moment passed between the friends, as the other two members of the Marauders are missing. One who left them forever and another one who wouldn't be left alive by the remaining members.

"How are your searches going on?" Sirius asked walking to the small table, where two glasses of untouched fire whiskey were sitting.

"How do you think they are going, Padfoot? He's a rat for Godric's sake. Each and every night, I return empty handed. I think I have to start sniffing around sewers to catch hold of him."

"I'm sorry you had to do this alone, Remus. Harry's still little. Or else I'll be the first one to drag that rat out and tear his filthy neck by my claws," Sirius said downing the entire glass of fire whiskey.

"No matter what happened, Sirius. You are to stay with Harry. When I find the rat, I'll bring it to you and you can have your revenge, my friend," Remus said taking a long gulp. "Any word from Dumbledore?"

"No. I don't think the old coot knows Harry's back in Britain."

"Never underestimate Dumbledore. He has eyes and ears everywhere. Hardly anything misses his sight. I definitely think he knows."

"I don't care. I'm not afraid of him. I still remember the night we took Harry from Lily's sister's house. The poor boy was shivering in my arms. And Dumbledore was responsible for it. He left Harry in their care," Sirius hissed. "And didn't even bother to check. Those heartless bastards left a tiny babe in a room unfit even for an elf. I can't understand how can that horrible person be Lily's sister. The Lily we know was an embodiment of kindness. Prongs was my best mate and my brother. But Lily, we had something in common. We didn't belong to our families. She accepted me with open arms and became my sister," Sirius said brushing his tears.

"Mine too," Remus said reminiscing the way she accepted his condition and showed unparalleled compassion.

"Uncle Moo'y," a small voice interrupted their conversation and they turned to see Harry standing at the nearby door, rubbing his eyes. "You came."

"Happy Birthday, Harry," Remus walked to him and picked the toddler. "Ready for your party?"

"Yes, yes," Harry bounced in his arms. His green eyes fell on the dancing birthday banner and they brightened up. "Snitches," Harry squealed. "Uncle Moo'y, present," Harry said jumping down from Remus' arms. He rushed into his room and came back with a sparkly pencil that Hermione gave him. "Hermine gave."

"That's a lovely gift, Harry. Did you say thank you?" Remus asked the boy who was holding the pencil very dearly. "The girl?" Remus mouthed to Sirius.

Sirius nodded with a smile and greeted the boy. "Come on, birthday boy. Let's get ready. She'll be here soon." He passed Harry a wrapped present and Harry enthusiastically opened it. He squealed and pulled a Quidditch Jersey in Gryffindor colors, out. He pulled it over his head and proudly proclaimed, "like Daddy."

"Yes, Harry. Just like James. Just like your father," Sirius whispered adjusting his messy hair.

"The resemblance is uncanny," a new dainty voice sounded in their vicinity. Sirius and Remus pulled their wands out as Sirius pushed Harry behind him, protectively.

"Narcissa?" Sirius gasped and his grip on Harry tightened. "Get out of my house, now."

"Cousin," Narcissa Malfoy replied demurely. "Is that how you treat family?" She then turned to Remus and greeted, "Mr. Lupin, we never had an opportunity to make acquaintance."

Remus blinked his eyes and started to lower his hand. But Sirius didn't budge. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You forget, this used to my childhood home and the elf is quite charmed by me. Are you banishing me from my own home?"

"I will if you think you can come near by Godson," Sirius said pushing Harry to Remus. "Take him away, Remus. I'll deal with her."

"Ah! Harry Potter," Narcissa moved forward ignoring Sirius threatening glares. "A very joyous day, today isn't it? Happy birthday," she said bowing down to peer into his emerald eyes.

Harry's emerald eyes widened at the stranger. He moved closer to Remus and mumbled, "Thank you." Narcissa grinned widely and moved closer.

"One more step and I will forget that you are a woman," Sirius' eyes were fuming.

"What a pity! Such a precious boy and he has no one else to celebrate his birthday with," she said with a mocking tone concealed in her concern. "But not to worry, I have brought you a present, you will cherish for life."

Sirius had enough of her intrusion and a harsh spell formed on his lips.

"Draco, come here," she said calling her son, who was standing close to the fireplace.

Sirius' wand stilled in its place as he looked at the youngest Malfoy. He vaguely remembered the little boy at Severus Snape's place slobbering all over him. The boy looked slightly shorter than Harry but he was trying very hard to keep his chin up and his fear controlled, as he walked to his mother. "Mother," the little boy said standing a foot farther to his mother. Narcissa smiled proudly at Draco and spoke to Harry, "This is my son, Draco Malfoy. You'll never find a better friend."

"I have a best friend, Hermine," Harry said showing the pencil in his hand.

Narcissa's eyes cringed at the sight of the pencil and she shook her head. "What is this, Sirius? A pencil for Harry Potter. And for Salazar sake, lower your wand, there are children here."

Sirius hissed sharply, "Narcissa, I don't care what game you are playing, coming here with your child. I'll give you exactly five minutes, to get the hell out of here."

"Pish Posh, cousin. Now," she said reaching for her bag and took out a small parcel. She tapped it with her wand and enlarged it to its original size. "This is a gift, fit for the boy who destroyed the Dark Lord," she said with a glint in her eyes.

Before Sirius could stop Harry, he yelled, "Broom," and clapped his hands. "Pa foo, it's a broom." Sirius felt constricted, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't break his little heart on his birthday. He gritted his teeth at his Slytherin cousin, who had an innocent smile on her face. "For me?" Harry asked.

"Of course. Draco already has one. It's a magnificent broom for children like you. It's a pity that Sirius didn't get you one sooner," Narcissa said pushing the broom into his waiting hands.

But at that time Harry did something that made Sirius' heart swell with pride. "Pa foo, give me a big broom," Harry said without taking the present. His eyes were focused on Sirius as if the little boy was waiting for his Godfather's approval.

Sirius beamed at him. "You can take it, Harry. But first, let Remus have a check, okay? You can go with him." He snatched the broom from Narcissa's hand and pushed into Remus'. "Take the children with you, Remus. I need to have a chat with my dear cousin."

Harry jumped after Remus as he turned into the other room. But seeing Draco still in the same place he came back and pulled Draco's hand, "Come."

Draco didn't move. His gaze was fixed on his mother. "Mother?" he asked timidly.

"Go on, Draco. The boy-who-lived is asking you to come and play with him," Narcissa said in a stern voice.

Draco smiled for the first time after he entered the house. "Let's go," he said hopping after Harry.

Remus gave a tensed look at Sirius holding the broom in his hand. Sirius gave a slight shake of his head and assured his friend that he would be fine.

As the three of them disappeared, Sirius gave a sharp turn and jabbed his wand into Narcissa's throat. "Don't you think I know how your deranged minds work? What in the name of hell are you doing here? We are on the opposite sides. And how do you know we are here?"

Narcissa let out a sharp breath. "You are forgetting the bigger picture here, Sirius. I come to you with nothing but friendship and goodwill. And as I already said, the elf is quite loyal to me."

"Rubbish. You don't know a thing about them."

"You are right. I don't know a thing about them. I was raised in that way. We all were raised in that way. But I was taught one thing. A Family is the most important thing. I'll do anything to keep them safe and untouched." Narcissa said pushing his wand away. "And being friends with the boy-who-lived and his Godfather seemed like a good place to start."

"What a load of shite," Sirius seethed at her. "Is this stupid idea stem from the twisted mind of your Death Eater husband?"

Narcissa chuckled, "Lucius doesn't know we're here. We faced a lot of scrutinies after Dark Lord perished. My husband is still fixing things. This is my part of a plan to keep Draco safe." She said strolling towards Walburga's portrait, twirling the curtains with her fingers. "Oh! Dear Aunt, how lovely to see you."

"NARCISSA! My darling niece. You have come to save my father's home. My BLOOD TRAITOR SON…." Her voice trailed off as Sirius clamped them shut.

"How long you are going to keep her shut. You are now head of the Black family. You have to embrace its legacy," Narcissa said catching hold of his shoulder. "Be a Black and look after your family."

It was Sirius time to laugh. "Sure, when it comes to you and your precious family, you plan all these deranged things. What happened when Voldemort went to murder a little boy. What happened to your sense of family when he killed James and Lily and made Harry an orphan."

Narcissa narrowed her eyes. "That boy is not an orphan. He's got you."

"I swear, Narcissa. If you don't leave in five minutes, I'm going to…." He didn't get to complete his sentence as a loud knock sounded at the door and Walburga Black erupted into a fit of curses.

"Shite, they're here," Sirius bit on his knuckles.

"You invited more guests? What a joy!" Narcissa said with a confused look.

"What to do, now? Remus, come here," he called.

Remus hurried into the room with both the toddlers on his toes. "It's them?"

"I don't know, what to do," Sirius yelled his eyes darting between his screaming mother's portrait and his cousin who stood there, utterly composed.

"Calm down, Sirius. I'll close the curtains and you take care of your cousin," Remus assured.

The knock sounded again and Harry squealed this time. "Hermine!"

Draco who was looking amazed by Harry's antics started clapping his hands just like Harry and joined his squeals, ignoring his mother's stern looks.

As Remus moved to close the curtains, Sirius cornered Narcissa. "One word, from your mouth and you are out of here," he hissed pointing to Draco. "And I'm doing this only for him."

Narcissa smiled but remained silent.

Harry and Draco were already running towards the door. Sirius quickly followed them, halting them in their step, and opened the door.

"Oh, you are here. I trust you didn't have any difficulty in finding this place," Sirius said welcoming the pair of father and daughter into his house.

"Not at all. As it turns out, we came to this neighborhood, quite a few times. Come on Hermione," her father gently moved the girl who was hiding behind him. "Come on, you wanted to wish Harry, Happy Birthday."

"Hermine!" Harry moved closer and took her hand. "Come, a new friend," he said pointing to Draco.

Hermione smiled but didn't leave her father's hand, as her eyes took in the dark demeanor of the house. Sirius caught her apprehension. He crouched down in front of her and asked. "Is this the same girl, who made fun of my name?"

She giggled and let go of her father's hand. She moved closer to Harry and squeaked, "Happy birthday," giving him a hug. The birthday boy felt extremely proud. Holding his friends in his both hands he guided them through his home. He grandly displayed his birthday decorations his Godfather had put up before moving to his presents.

"It is quite an antique house, Mr. Black," Richard Granger explained peering around.

"Oh! Please, it is an old mangy house. It belonged to my parents," Sirius said. "Let me introduce to one of my best mates, Remus Lupin."

"How do you do?" Richard Granger extended his hand.

Remus smiled warmly. "Harry is quite enamored with your daughter. He had been talking only about her since he came back," Remus said looking at the chattering toddlers.

"I must say, Hermione had been doing the same. To be frank, she hasn't had many friends in the past. I think some part of her knows she is different than the others. And with your boy, she could easily connect. That's part of the reason I agreed to come."

"Different you say," Narcissa who was quiet until then, advanced. "In what sense?"

"Narcissa, not now," Sirius started to say, gesturing Remus to take Richard Granger away from her.

But their efforts turned futile when Richard said, "all her friends are just like us. Our Hermione is the only one who is a witch."

Narcissa's eyes widened in horror. "You're a muggle," she shrank back from her position. "Sirius, how could you? How could you invite filth like them into this noble house."

"This is my house and I'll invite whoever I want to. On the other side, you're the one who is not invited, so feel free to get out," Sirius scoffed. He turned to Richard Granger who looked blanched at Narcissa's sudden outburst. "I'm so sorry. Our family is not very cultured."

"We mean no trouble. If our presence is causing concerns, we'll leave," Richard obliged, his steps leading to the place where the children sat, immersed in their own world.

"No, please, stay. I'm sure Sirius would sort it out," Remus said shooting a sharp look at Sirius.

"Of course. Please stay. Harry after a long time, is having fun with a friend."

Richard calmed down and gave an apprehensive look towards Narcissa. Her nostrils flaring, she rushed to Draco, who was animatedly explaining a broomstick ride to an amazed Hermione and an intrigued Harry and pulled him up by his hand. "We're leaving now. I can't stand to stay in the same room as that filth. Draco! Don't touch her," she yelled at her son, who was holding Hermione's hand. At the same time, Walburga's portrait started her own share of slurs, further antagonizing the situation.

Tears started to form in Hermione eyes and Draco started to wince in pain at his mother's pressure. All the adults had their faces turned red in anger and started to advance towards them.

"Stop," Harry yelled. "Hermine friend, Draco friend," he said looping them into his embrace by their shoulders. "Stay," he concluded with determination.

Sirius' heart swelled with pride for another time. He truly was his father and mother's, son. But before he could congratulate his Godson, a bright white light erupted from the children, throwing Narcissa back with a great force. It didn't stop there. With a powerful surge, the light surrounded the wailing portrait and blasted it off the hinges. The adults tried to come forward to protect the children, but the light kept them at bay. The muffled screams emanating from the portrait, slowly dissolved into nothingness.

As the light dimmed, Sirius, Remus, and Richard lunged forward and grabbed all the three children, who were completely passed out on the mat. Sirius' eyes welled up as he saw the protective grip of Harry on both Hermione and Draco.

"Is this normal?" Richard asked taking Hermione into his lap. He quickly checked the pulses of all the children and sighed. "They seemed to be alright, just asleep. What exactly had happened?"

"No, it's not normal," Remus said a concern marring his face.

"It's going to be okay. We will find out why this has happened and we will protect them with our lives," Sirius said taking their tiny hands into his. "But one good thing had definitely come from this. They got rid of my mother's portrait," Sirius said grinning and looking at the prone form of Narcissa, as the wails of the ancient elf reached his ears.

At the same time, far away in Hogwarts, Dumbledore smiled taking a sip of his tea, "So it has begun."


	8. Bond

Minutes trickled into hours, but there was no change in the stillness that invaded the children. All three of them were in a peaceful slumber completely unaware to the anxiety that overtook the adults in the Grimmauld Place.

"My dragon," Narcissa whimpered brushing Draco's hair away from his pale forehead. She bit back her tears, throwing scathing looks at all the others in the room. "It's all because of you, my boy is in this condition. Lucius will not sit quietly."

Narcissa had gained back her consciousness a bit after the incident. She pulled her wand on all the people, in the room threatening to blow up the house, if she didn't find out what was happening to her precious boy. Sirius didn't back down as he stood up to her challenge. It was Remus who threw a protective shield on the kids and pulled the Black cousins to a different room.

When the Malfoy matriarch crumbled down into sobs, Sirius wand wavered a bit. For a minute, he forgot the person in front of him was his arrogant cousin. He saw the pain of a mother, who was worried for her only son. He tentatively offered his hand and pulled her up. Sirius for the first time, saw her façade fade away and an extreme vulnerability took its place, in her eyes. His strong will to keep her away loosened up.

Sirius was sure, the kids would have woken up by her hysterics, but there was still no movement in them. That's when the real worry started to burrow in his mind and he didn't leave Harry's hand from then. Narcissa tried to pry Draco from the tight grip of Harry, but to everybody's surprise, Harry didn't budge his hold on either of his friends. Narcissa didn't have a choice as she sat down holding her son's hand.

"He wouldn't have a choice, cousin," Sirius said in a somber tone, clutching Harry and Hermione's tiny palms. "Didn't you see, that was some powerful light magic. Your Death Eater husband wouldn't be able to stand it." Sirius said looking at Remus, who was sitting in the middle of a mountain of books. Remus had been trying everything he can to revive the kids. Using his wolf senses, he confirmed that, their condition was not alarming, but the situation that they weren't responding to any of their spells, kept all of them worried.

"I should send a word to Hermione's mother," Richard Granger whispered cradling Hermione's head in his lap. Hermione's father was the most troubled of all. He didn't have a blasted idea of what was going on and the fact that he's of no use, made the man downtrodden. "She would be worried."

"Just a few more minutes, Remus should find something soon. The Library is huge. I'm sure there would be some sort of information in that pile," Sirius consoled patting his hand. His eyes misted a bit looking at the person, who was stranger since that morning. "I'm so sorry," Sirius said, as his voice cracked.

"It's not exactly your fault. Your son is in the same position too," Richard said looking at Harry.

"Godson," Narcissa whispered stroking Draco's hair. "Sirius is his Godfather."

"I didn't know. I thought you were his father." Richard said with an expression of astonishment. "What happened to his parents?" He asked his gaze avoiding the woman, who scorned at him and his daughter's presence.

"Do you want to answer this cousin? I'm sure you would know more details than me," Sirius said with a hot glare.

Narcissa ignored Sirius' jab and closed her eyes.

"It's a tragedy. His parents gave their lives, protecting him," Sirius said thinking about his best friends.

"What happened?"

"Not all of us are good, Richard," Sirius scoffed giving Narcissa a pointed stare. "There was a lunatic who called himself Lord Voldemort," Sirius heard his cousin's gasp and sighed. "Who went crazy with his magic. He thought he was invincible and he started to kill everybody who posed a threat to him, even a little baby." Sirius said looking at Harry. "But his parents were brave. They stopped him. They stood in the line of fire and protected their boy."

Even Narcissa bowed her head listening to Sirius' words.

"So where is this Voldemort bloke now?" Richard asked with confusion mixed with fear on his face.

"Gone. Destroyed," Sirius said leaning his head back.

Richard nodded in relief. "Why did he try to kill a little boy?" he asked, the fear quotient on his face slightly lessened.

Interrupting Sirius' answer the fireplace burst into green flames. He gestured Richard Granger to scoot closer to Harry and Hermione and leaped out of the room.

"Sirius Black," Albus Dumbledore greeted him from the fireplace. "I trust, everything's well."

Sirius narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, "Dumbledore. Might I ask what are you doing in my home?" He asked holding his wand in a tight grip. He could hear Remus steps beside him, as he came to a halt.

"Professor Dumbledore," Remus' greeting was in a polite tone. "Snape?" Remus said cocking his head to a side looking at the person who accompanied their headmaster.

Sirius growled at the mention of Snape's name who didn't notice his presence until then. Narcissa came rushing into the room hearing her old friend's name. "Severus," she cried. "Look what happened to Draco?"

Snape looked at Narcissa in confusion, "Narcissa, what are you doing here?"

"That indeed is a right question. Am I to assume, you are here with your husband Mrs. Malfoy?"

"No," Narcissa replied in a curt voice.

"Narcissa, what happened to Draco?" Snape asked moving closer to her.

She shook her head, stifling her sobs with her teeth.

"Let's find out," Dumbledore said moving towards the room, Sirius and Narcissa just emerged from.

"No. I'm not going to let you near them," Sirius said stopping the imposing form of Albus Dumbledore.

"Sirius," Dumbledore started with a sigh. "I know you would never understand my intentions to place Harry in his aunt' place. I was trying to keep him safe."

"Keep your nonsense to yourself," Sirius said pointing to the fireplace, gesturing them to leave.

"Are you mad?" Narcissa barked. "He might know what happened to them."

"I don't want him coming near Harry and Remus is already working on it," Sirius said adamantly. "As to think of it. What are you doing here?"

"We know Potter did some strange magic here, Black. And by the state of you, we can understand something bad, had happened to him. So cut your pride and let Professor Dumbledore in," Snape hissed.

"You are one to talk, Death Eater," Sirius said seething.

"Sirius," Remus interfered.

"No, I'm not letting Dumbledore, near them," Sirius said his voice whimpering. "He'll take Harry away from me."

"We are here with Harry. Trust me, we'll not let anything happen to them, Pads," Remus squeezed his shoulder. "But it's been a while, the kids are like that and I couldn't find a way either. We can agree that Dumbledore would know what to do," Remus said eyeing Snape and Narcissa skeptically.

"Mr. Dumbledore," Richard suddenly appeared near the door. "I thought I heard your voice. You have to help us." The distressed father cried at the sight of the person, who had introduced their family to magic.

Dumbledore's face twisted in confusion. "Mr. Granger?" A myriad of emotions ran over his face, as he tried to decipher something. Slowly, it transformed into an expression of glee as she whispered to himself. "Of course. It had to be all three."

"Please, Sirius. I have to see them," Dumbledore proceeded towards the door, but Sirius still didn't budge.

Richard shared a confusing glance with Remus and the werewolf sighed and gave a tug on Sirius' shoulder. Sirius knew in some part of his brain that his friend was right and he has to agree. He glared at Dumbledore and hissed, "If you try anything with Harry, I will not hesitate to go to Azkaban."

Dumbledore's eyes twinkled at Sirius' threat and nodded his assertion.

"Fascinating!" Dumbledore exclaimed looking at the children, who were ensconced together in their own world. "I never thought it would come true. I thought it was just Harry who composed that beautiful magic." He moved to the prone forms of children and ran his fingers on their clasped hands. "The raw magic thrums beneath their skin."

"How did you know the magic generated from Harry?" Remus asked this time.

"Did you think I'd leave him with his muggle relatives without any magical detection charms?" Dumbledore asked his fingers pressing into the creases that formed in their palm due to their tight grips. Ignoring Sirius growls he continued, "The prophecy had indeed come true."

"Prophecy?" Richard asked a look of irritation passed on his face. Clearly, he began to understand that the magical world was not as straight forward as their own.

"I told you about Voldemort trying to kill Harry. This was the reason. Harry was supposed to be the boy, who would destroy Voldemort. So, that idiot went on to murder him, when he was just one year old."

"That's foolish. Who would do that," Richard said scooting closer to Hermione.

"Misguided people," Dumbledore said with a glance flying towards a squirming Snape. "The prophecy would have gone unnoticed if Voldemort had not acted. But choosing to kill Harry, he had inadvertently laid a foundation for his own destruction."

"Why should we care about a bloody Prophecy. Voldemort's dead," Sirius said raising his arms into the air.

Everyone in the room had their eyes fixed on Dumbledore. His face was grim and his tone was dour as he spoke. "Something happened that night when he faced that little boy. Lily Potter cast a protective spell out of love. That shield rebounded onto the caster himself, thus destroying Voldemort's body. But he didn't exactly die that night. He was just too broken to continue as a living thing. He's just biding his time to attack again with vengeance." Dumbledore looked at everybody in the room who were paying rapt attention to his words. "But there had been a great mistake and it's our utmost duty to protect these three children. They are our only means to destroy him forever. Because when he comes back, he's going to be invincible."

The stillness that loomed over the people in the room remained a few more minutes until Remus cleared his throat. "What was the mistake?"

"I can't tell you. But even before thinking about that, we have an important problem on our hands. The power is radiating from the children. If not anchored, it's going to be very difficult to contain it, in their tiny bodies."

"What do you mean, anchored? What are you trying to do to my daughter?" Richard exploded. "I have to get out of here. I have to get her to safety."

"Stay calm, you, muggle. You're not going to help your daughter," Narcissa hissed. "Let Dumbledore handle."

"I don't trust you. Richard's right. You're going to do the same mistake. I can't let you put those kids through the same kind of torture just like you did with Harry," Sirius said protectively. Richard's sharp gasp echoed in the house.

"Oh! Sirius. There was a reason Harry was left at his aunt's. His mother's protection runs through her sister's blood," Dumbledore explained. "I had to leave him with them."

"It's nonsense. They locked him in a cupboard and starved him," Sirius growled. The pain that housed in his heart at the sight of a malnourished Harry, tumbled out of him making others in the shudder. "I'll never trust you."

"But you trust yourself, right?" Dumbledore asked. "You are his Godfather, his magical guardian. You can be his anchor." The old man turned to the Slytherins and spoke. "Severus you can be the anchor to Draco."

"For Draco, it'll be me," Narcissa stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Malfoy. It's Severus' duty as a Godfather."

"But I'm his mother," Narcissa glared her eyes. "He's my little boy."

Severus Snape took a step forward towards Dumbledore. With a comforting assurance to Narcissa, Snape said, "I'll do it."

"I'll take up the responsibility of Harry and Hermione too if that's what protects them. I'll be an anchor to both of them," Sirius said protectively looming over them.

Dumbledore gave an appraising gaze at Severus, turned to Sirius. "I appreciate your acceptance, Sirius. But you cannot be an anchor to both of them. For Ms. Granger, it has to be another person. But I'm afraid her father is not an option. Therefore, it has to be me. I'll be an anchor to Ms. Granger's magic."

"Why can't it be me? I'm her father for God's sake. I'll take her pain."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Granger. Unfortunately, your body couldn't handle the magical surges. It has to be a magical person."

"It's preposterous," Richard cried.

Narcissa moved impatiently. "If you are quite finished with dramatics, we have three children to revive."

Sirius glared at Narcissa and moved closer to Richard. "I don't agree with Dumbledore with many of the things, but I think this time, he is correct. Your body will be crushed with the magic of such large amounts." He then turned his scathing glare towards Dumbledore and spoke. "But I won't let you be her anchor. A child should never be entrusted to you. Remus will be her anchor."

"Sirius," Remus stopped him. "I don't know. I'm not like you. I'd do more harm than good, to the little girl."

"You are twice the man than I, Remus. I know your dedication. You'd give your life before you let anything happen to the people you care."

"Sirius, please. I'm not sure," Remus hesitated.

"Do you want to trust a little girl's guardianship to a person, who left Harry with people like those Dursleys. I don't think so, Remus," Sirius pulled Remus forward. "Look at her. She deserves the best protection."

A jolt of light suddenly passed from the place where the children clasped their hands and they started shivering.

"We are running out of time. The magic is getting out of control," Severus muttered pointing to the trembling forms of the children.

"Please Mr. Lupin, save my child," Richard spoke catching his hands. The words Sirius spoke about Dumbledore did a number of Richard, he cast a skeptic eye towards the older wizard.

"Okay," Remus assured the poor father with a slight hesitation and moved closer to Hermione. But when he spoke there was nothing but a concern in his voice. "Do not fear, I understand what this means. I'm going to be a Godfather to your daughter. And I promise you she will always come first. I'll protect her with every means possible."

Sirius and Richard gave gratified smiles, but Dumbledore lost the twinkle in his eyes, clearly not happy at the turn if events. But Sirius wouldn't have it in any other way. He was determined to keep Dumbledore away from the children at any cost.

"Everything seems to be in order. What else are you waiting for? Please help the children, Dumbledore," Narcissa whimpered.

"Very well," Dumbledore said with his wand in his hand. He guided Severus to Draco's hand, Sirius to Harry's and Remus to Hermione's, while Richard and Narcissa looked on with nervous stares. He started weaving complex weave of spells around the children. The bright light that kicked the portrait into oblivion, started to radiate from the kids again, but at a controlled rate. Sirius, Remus, and Severus shut their eyes tightly as if in pain. The gentle thrum of magic sounded around them like a symphony, enthralling everyone in the room.

A tiny shudder passed through Draco and a small silver strand started dancing from the place his heart resided and Dumbledore directed it to Severus. As soon as it touched Severus, the pair of Godfather and Godson glowed in a bright silver light. In tandem with the silver light, a gold beam emerged from the little girl's heart that was diverted into Remus and it made the two of them glow in a beautiful golden light.

Accompanying the silver and gold, a gleaming red streak of light bloomed out of Harry's heart and Dumbledore didn't need to guide it to Sirius. As if the magic knew it's anchor it swiveled its way into his Godfather's heart.

Amazement filled the eyes of the onlookers of this miracle. It was a sight to behold when the bonds were forged. The music of the magic hummed with the light bathing the grim and old house with its brilliance.

The magic slowly halted getting absorbed into their tiny hearts, and the house faded into dark.

Three tiny whimpers chimed, sending a wave of happiness into all the occupants' hearts.

"Draco," Narcissa tried to stride forward.

"Wait," Dumbledore stopped her, in the tone of a hurry. "I need to check something."

He scooted closer and with the help of his wand light observed them. But he didn't need to check for long. "Beautiful," Dumbledore said tracing the new addition on their left wrists. A thin band of silver adorned Draco's wrist, a gold one, Hermione's, and a crimson one, Harry's. A sharp lightning bolt gleamed from the inside of each of their wrists joining the ends of their bands.

"What is it?" Richard asked. "Is she alright?" Sirius, Remus, and Severus have slowly started to open their eyes.

"She is, Mr. Granger. In fact, they all are," Dumbledore said with a satisfied smile looking at the pairs of Godfathers and Godchildren. "What you have witnessed today is nothing short of a magnificent phenomenon. Even a whiff of it escaped outside, you are putting all your children in danger." Dumbledore said his gaze particularly settling on Narcissa.

A flicker of concern passed her face, as she sat down beside Draco. "Mother," the toddler cooed entwining his arms around her neck.

Narcissa, without a backward glance, picked up Draco and rushed to the fireplace. After the roar of fire and the whooshing sound of their dismissal, Dumbledore chuckled.

Sirius was holding Harry in his lap as he plucked open his eyes. "Pa-foo," he called hugging his Godfather.

As for Hermione, Remus awkwardly transferred the wide-eyed girl into his father's waiting arms. "Papa," Hermione buried her face into her father's shoulder. Richard brushed tears of his own as he held his daughter. Remus placed a kiss on the back of her head and assured them, that he would stick to his promise.

Sirius heard, Severus Snape, moving to the retreating form of the headmaster. "You knew about this," Snape stated in an accusing tone.

"I agree, I had my interpretations. But now it is confirmed. My weapon's ready. Voldemort, or, as a matter of fact, no one would have a chance," he whispered, ignoring the canine hearing of Sirius and Remus. Disappearing into the green flames with Severus Snape, leaving the Marauders wondering what exactly were the Headmaster's intentions.

It was almost two weeks the bond had formed and everything seemed to have fallen in order. There was nothing different, except for the red band and the little lightning bolt that now adorned Harry's tiny wrist. No outbursts or no accidental magic shook the house. There was no sign of the Malfoys in Sirius' life and he couldn't be happier.

That afternoon, Sirius took Harry to a play date with Hermione as promised and Remus joined them to greet his goddaughter. As the two gentlemen stood in front of a quiet suburban home, while an exuberated toddler rapped his knuckles on the artful door.

Richard Granger opened the door with a pleasant smile, they have seen before. But the words he uttered after that gave his guests a hard whiplash.

"May I help you?"

Remus and Sirius looked at each other in confusion, while Harry exclaimed happily, "Hermine?"

Richard looked at the adults and mimicked their confusion. "I'm sorry but I think you have got the wrong house."

"Richard, It's us," Sirius said with an apprehensive face. "Harry is here for a play date with your daughter, Hermione."

Richard let out a loud chuckle at those words. "Now I'm sure you're mistaken. We have no daughter. But Hermione is definitely an interesting name." The man said with so much ease, that Sirius could find nothing but the truth in his eyes.

When Sirius tried to object, Remus pointed to their living room that didn't possess a single sign of a child living there. "I'm sorry. I think we were mistaken," Remus said dragging Sirius and Harry by their hands. "It's not the time. They have been obliviated."

"Good day, Gentleman. And you my dear little boy, I hope you have a great time with your friend Hermione."

Richard vanished into the house, leaving a disappointed boy and his two caretakers in a state of confusion.

"Pafoo, Hermine?" Harry cried his bottom lip protruding in a pout.

"I don't know, mate. But Merlin help, the person, who did this."


	9. An old friend

Sirius took a deep breath and stepped out of the green flames. His eyes took in the entire scenario in front of him, gauging any potential threats for the little boy in his hands.

"Pa'foo, where are we?"

"This is the Ministry of Magic, Harry. You stay close to me," he steadied his wand and moved to the receiving desk when the area appeared clear.

Harry looked wide-eyed at the magnificent setting. His eyes particularly fixed on the fountain of magical brethren. The statues beamed in radiance, showering the entire area in their golden light. Even though he was entranced by the sight, he didn't leave Sirius' hand nor did the little toddler push Hermione out of his mind. "Hermine, here?"

"We'll soon find out, kid," Sirius said scrunching his forehead in worry. Sirius was ready to storm his way to Hogwarts, to question Dumbledore about the sudden turn of events, but Remus stopped him. Sirius argued, but he slowly understood, he couldn't take any action with Harry in his hands. Remus said he would scour the Muggle neighborhood for any clues. Somebody would have seen something. Remus also assured he wouldn't leave the place until he found something about his goddaughter. Sirius conceded, looking at the protectiveness that flared in the werewolf's eyes, when he talked about the little girl, who meant nothing to him, until a few days back.

Reaching Grimmauld Place, his thoughts started to flow in a new direction. After assuring Harry, Hermione was safe and they both would be playing together soon, the toddler relaxed, giving Sirius some time to do a bit of research of his own. That led, his trip to the ministry of magic, where a very dear acquaintance worked. He had to agree, there is no point in hiding anymore from the Wizarding world when he was officially back in London and things started to take a nasty turn.

Reaching the desk, Sirius flashed a charming smile at the young witch behind the desk and greeted, "Hey, beautiful!"

"May I help you?" she replied with a slight flustered look.

"Most certainly," Sirius smirked. "We are here to meet Madame Bones," he said, placing Harry out of the view.

"Oh, just a moment, please," she said moving to retrieve her wand. "I will need your wand."

The woman's eyes bulged open as she saw the name that popped out of the wand weighing scale. "You're Sirius Black."

"I sure am," he said propping his hand on the desk. "Now, I was wondering, where dear Amelia is this afternoon?"

But the question seemed to have bounced off her head, as she still looked dumbfounded. "Does that mean, Harry Potter is here too?"

Sirius stopped the eye roll and pushed Harry behind him. He didn't want to create any scene and he had to divert her attention to something else before she started spouting unnecessary questions. "Sweetheart," he addressed, making her gasp. "I would like to discuss, every single detail, but not here. How about, I take you out to dinner and we can talk. But first, I need to engage in this dull but an important discussion with Madame Bones."

The Witch nodded her head with a shy smile and handed him his wand.

Sirius gave a bow and pulling Harry to his side and strolled towards the lifts, thinking, if flirting with a witch was this tedious, before?

By the fortunate stance of times, the ministry wasn't crowded and they gained access to the lifts without dragging much attention to the pair of them. Sirius hoped it would be the same case as he stepped out of the lift on the second floor directly into DMLE.

The Auror office was bustling as usual and they didn't pay any thought to the passing pair. But, as soon as he tried to get past the door of the cramped office of misuse of muggle artifacts, a large hand clamped on his shoulder.

"Sirius Black? Good Lord! Is that you?" a kind voice, that betrayed the hard grasp on his shoulder, greeted him.

He let out a sigh of relief and spoke turning towards one of the friendly presences at the ministry, "Arthur Weasley. Good to see you."

Arthur beamed at him and replied, "Surely, not as good as I felt. I didn't know you were back in Britain." He squinted and looked at the child hanging on to Sirius' feet and his eyes widened, "Is that him?"

Sirius sighed and nodded his head. Before Arthur declared his exuberance, Sirius said, "Everything's new to him. The situation could be quite overwhelming for a three-year-old, so if you could, please," Sirius said making a hand motion of zipping his lips.

Arthur nodded his head without any hesitation. "Of course, Gentle little things, aren't they?" Arthur said extending his hand towards, Harry. "Arthur Weasley, how do you do?"

Harry blinked his bright green eyes and gave a hesitated look towards his Godfather. As Sirius gave his approval, he tentatively shook the offered hand and muttered, "Harry Potter."

"You certainly seem to be a well-mannered one. I have a boy too, just about your age. In fact, he is here today. We are celebrating a unique Muggle tradition, I take pride in introducing, 'bring your child to work'." Arthur said stretching his shoulders in pride.

Harry drew his hand back slowly and shook his head and looked at Sirius. "Hermine?"

"I'm sure, your boy is a charming lad and that is a very interesting tradition. But I came to meet Madame Bones. Perhaps, we could drop by later and talk about Muggle transportation modes and lovely ladies covered in interesting clothing," Sirius said draping his hand over Harry's shoulders and whispering the last part.

"What a coincidence! Not your interest in Muggle transportation methods involving ladies, but your meeting with Madame Bones. Ron is now indeed, with her, as she's the only other one celebrating this Muggle tradition I've introduced. Let me walk you there," Arthur said moving forward, letting Sirius fall in step behind him.

But Sirius suddenly felt constricted. As far as he knew, Amelia didn't have any children. From, the knowledge he gathered, she wasn't in any relationship, either. Now, where did this child come from? Sirius' heart dropped into his stomach, thinking about the inevitable. When the time and his duties for the order, demanded to break things up with her, she never mentioned about a child. But Harry's tug on his shirt brought him back to the world and they moved forward to join Arthur.

"Madame Bones," Arthur's cheery voice erupted in the large office.

The children who were playing at one of the tables, looked at the newcomer and a small red haired child ran towards the door, "Dad!"

"How many times, should I tell you, Arthur, to call me Amelia?" the lady seated at the large pristine table, spoke, adjusting her monocle, but didn't raise her eyes from the parchments on the table.

"You'll always be Madame Bones in the office. But I will call you Amelia if you accept our Sunday lunch invitation. Molly would be delighted," Arthur said lifting up the exuberated red haired boy up to his shoulders. The girl, the little boy's playmate moved to the table and stood behind the lady of the office.

"Please tell Molly, I'm honored and I'll definitely make plans to come, with Susan," she said kissing the little girl on her cheek.

"That would be great. But that wasn't the reason, I came by now. Look, who is back in town," Arthur said moving to a side, giving Amelia Bones an uninterrupted view of Sirius and his Godson.

"Sirius Black," she gasped, dropping the quill from her hand to the table.

Sirius scratched the back of his neck sheepishly and gave an awkward wave, "Hey, Amy. Long time, no see." He took Harry into his hands and stood beside Arthur.

There reigned a pin drop silence for the next few moments, that was interrupted by a giggle from the little girl standing beside Amelia. She seemed to amused by the actions of the boy on Arthur's shoulders who was making funny sounds and imitating to chomp on his father's receding hair. Not a minute later, Harry too giggled, for the first time after their failed plans to play with Hermione.

"Your son is very charming, Arthur," Sirius said with a smile. He then gave a tentative glance at the girl beside Amelia and tried to make out any features that may give him a clue. "Such a beautiful daughter, Amy," Sirius said giving her an appraising glance.

Amelia bit the inside of her cheek but didn't say anything. "What brings you here, Black?" Her eyes moved to the boy with the infamous scar, but she didn't say anything, even though her eyes widened at the recognition.

"Well, some unfinished Business. I know only one person, in the whole wizarding world, could help," Sirius said flashing a roguish wink.

"If you think, that I'm going to help you, you're more delirious than I thought," she said dismissing him.

"Now, now, Amy, we all know, you don't really mean it," Sirius said dropping into the chair opposite her and adjusted Harry Potter in his lap. When Amelia Bones started to say something in quite a snappy tone, Sirius stopped. "Amy, there are children here. We might want to stall the foreplay."

"Okay," Arthur jumped in with an awkward smile. "Let me take care of the children, while you talk. Come on, Susan," he said beckoning to the little girl standing beside her.

"Auntie?" she asked the Amelia, who gave her a sharp nod. "Be a good girl and don't trouble Arthur."

She giggled and strolled to Arthur, gripping his hand. "I'll be happy to take care of your Godson, too," Arthur offered but Harry snuggled into Sirius, who looked clearly not pleased with the idea.

"Thanks, Arthur, But Harry's fine and I promise you, no more talk about foreplay," he said, giving a relieved wink at Amelia Bones.

Arthur slowly slipped out of the room, leaving the two to talk, with a light chuckle and a shake of his head.

"So, auntie, huh. You got me really scared for a minute there," Sirius said pushing Harry's head into his shoulder, encouraging him to relax.

"Don't tell me, you came all the way here, to talk about any probable children we may have had," she said disinterestedly. "After all that happened."

"Amy, please I need your help. The situation is too delicate." Sirius said. "No one could help me. It should be you."

"You have some serious guts to come back to me, after the way, you have behaved," Amelia Bones hissed in a lowered voice.

Sirius gave an exasperated sigh, "Whatever happened between us, did happen for a reason." He looked at the boy in his hands, who had dozed off into a slumber. "I can't give you, what you wholly deserve. There is nothing left in me, Amy. Whatever little I have left, I have to save it for him."

She sighed and dropped her shoulders. "What do you need, Sirius?"

"There's this muggle born witch, a sweet little girl around the same age as him, Harry had befriended," Sirius started.

"I may not be the correct person you need to come to if she had done some accidental magic," she interrupted.

"No, that's not what I'm talking about. Harry was supposed to meet her today, but when we went to meet her, she wasn't there."

Amelia was looking at him with a bored expression. "Sirius, I don't understand."

"For Merlin's sake, Amy. She is gone, vanished from her existence. Even her own parents don't remember her."

"What are you saying, Sirius? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know. Remus is scouring the area for any clues, as we speak."

"Why did you come to me, Sirius. You should have gone to Dumbledore."

"Think Amy. That is some powerful magic, what was done. They managed to erase her whole existence. The childhood years were gone, and their house looked barren, without any traces of any little girl that ever lived there. Who do you think could do that?"

"I would say You-know-who, but how is that possible? He was completely destroyed right. Thanks to him," she said pointing to Harry.

"I can't say anything about completely destroyed, but let's just say he's too weak to act now. Apart from him who else could have that much power?"

"Sirius, I know you have issues with Dumbledore, but I think you're wrong," she said bending forwards and taking his hand.

"Don't try to convince me. At least, not now. I know the ministry keeps records of all the magical activity from a muggle area. I want you to pull out all the records, that happened in this area in the past two weeks, " Sirius said reaching into his pockets and pulled out a parchment with Grangers' address written on it.

"Sirius, that's a punishable offense under the law. You can't ask me to do that."

"Amy, a little girl is in danger, because of her association with us. I have to save her, for his sake. Don't give me shite about offenses. You are head of the investigations department. If you can't do anything, nobody can," Sirius said.

"Sirius, you are hiding something," Amelia Bones said giving Sirius a guarded look.

"I assure you, it's nothing important. I have my reasons to not to believe Dumbledore, and I need those records. You know you can trust me."

A doubt flickered in her eyes, making his heart race. Amelia Bones was a person with strong moral convictions. She never did anything, until she believed it was right. Sirius had half a mind to step back but he had no other choice. Even if Remus found anything, it would be impossible to confront Dumbledore without any proof. He wasn't like Voldemort. Everybody loved Dumbledore.

"Okay, I'll humor you this time. But if your theory proves wrong, I won't hesitate to take you into my custody," she said narrowing her eyes.

"And I won't stop you. But I promise you, Amy, it's Dumbledore."

"Wait here. I'll need some time to get those records from the Auror office," she said getting up from her chair. She paused by the Sirius and ruffled the sleeping toddler's hair. "I never thought I would see this day, but this suits you."

Sirius couldn't agree more. Taking care of Harry, came to him, naturally. Even for a moment, it never felt like a burden. Though the loss of James and Lily gnawed at his insides, the little tyke pretty much compensated for everything. He was his life and he would do anything to ensure all his bonded friends are safe.

The next half an hour passed in an excruciatingly slow manner. As Harry was still dozing on his shoulder, Sirius stopped himself from barging into the Aurors' office. As his head started to drift off to sleep, the door opened and a fuming Amelia Bones stepped in.

"How could they do this? They kept a big incident like this under the wraps," she said throwing a parchment on the table. She moved to the cabinet at the end of the room, and began to take dusty old folders from the cupboard and unceremoniously dropped the on the floor.

"Amy, what happened?" Sirius asked, placing the boy on the chair, as he was woken up from all the commotion.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," she gave an apologetic glance but gestured him to come closer. "A spell was performed on a Muggle family. A dangerous spell. One which we haven't seen since Grindelwald."

"The dark wizard," Sirius gasped. "What has he got to do with anything? He didn't even belong in Britain."

"Pay attention, Sirius. I'm talking about a spell he used," she said pointing to a particular entry in the thick journal. "See, these were the times when he was very active. He was not like Voldemort. His methods were devious and twisted. Where You-know-who was vicious, Grindelwald was clever with a devious thinking. He played with minds of his victims. This particular spell altered their perception. The spell made them believe that they were living in their own past. Fighting with their own perception and what the others conceived, the victims were slowly driven into madness."

"That bas...," Sirius growled but stopped immediately noticing Harry's curious eyes. "I know what I'm going to do with him."

"Sirius, we're not sure if it was Dumbledore. The records only showed the magical event, not the person who cast the spell."

Interrupting their dialogue, a bright light swooped into the room and halted beside Sirius, making both the witch and the wizard to draw out their wands. But Harry clapped his hands at the bright silver wolf and cried, "Uncle Moo'y."

The Patronus opened his mouth and Remus' voice burst out of it. "Some kind of terrible magic was performed on the Grangers. An attendant at their workplace confirmed it. They started behaving oddly, overnight. But that's not it. I need you to come here, immediately."

"I have to go," Sirius rushed to Harry, who was still looking with a fascinated expression, at the wolf. "Come on, buddy. We have to go."

"Wait, I'm coming with you," Amelia said striding up to him. "But we can't take the boy. We don't know into what situation we are walking into."

"Remus would have warned us if the situation was dire," Sirius said unrelenting his grip on the child.

"I trust Remus. But that's practically the affected area. We can't take a child into it. You don't know what might be lurking there."

"I'll be there to protect him," Sirius said adamantly.

"I've been in these situations before. We might think, everything is under control, but you can never guess, what might happen in the next moment. Merlin forbid, but if anything happened to the child, you cannot survive the guilt, Sirius."

That stopped him. It would be undeniably stupid of him to take Harry with him. Damn, she was right. "What can I do?"

"Do you trust me?" she asked taking his hand.

"Of course," Sirius said without letting the hesitation show on his face.

"Then follow me. I know the correct person to take care of Harry Potter."

Sirius understood her plan as he followed her to the office of misuse of Muggle Artefacts office, where Arthur Weasley engaged his son and Amelia's niece.

"Arthur," Amelia knocked the door catching their attention. "I'm afraid I have to ask for a favor."

"Anything Madame Bones. I'm almost done for the day."

She tugged on Sirius shirt to pull him forward with Harry clutching tightly onto him. "I want to come with you, Pafoo."

Sirius smiled awkwardly at the older Weasley, "We have to attend to a situation, that may not be child-friendly. So, I was just wondering..."

Arthur didn't let him finish, "Of course. I'd be delighted."

Sirius gave a gratified smile and bent down to Harry's height. "It's going to be great, Harry. You have two new friends to play with."

"I want Hermine," Harry said adamantly.

"Very soon, buddy," Sirius assured Harry and gently pushed him towards Arthur's waiting hands.

Arthur lifted a very hesitant Harry Potter into his arms and consoled him. "We're going to have an amazing time, Harry. Susan here can tell many interesting stories and Ron knows some very fun games. And if you get bored we can go home and meet a very new pet, my other son had recently got." Harry gave a tentative nod looking at Ron and Susan, who were waving enthusiastically at him to come and join the play.

"Thank you so much, Arthur," Amelia said and turned to Sirius. "Shall we?"

Sirius, who was still looking at Harry with concerned eyes, gave a final nod and said good bye to him. He took Amelia's offered hand, following the witch's lead, all the while muttering, "I hope I'm not doing a stupid thing."


	10. Call for help

"Sirius, in here," Remus hissed as Sirius and Amelia rushed through the small gate that led into Grangers' house. "What took you so long?" Remus snapped looking at his friend. As his eyes traveled to the person who came with Sirius, Remus' brow furrowed. "Amelia?"

"Remus. Hope you don't mind I tagged along," she said looking at the house. "Is that the place where the little girl used to live?" She didn't wait for his answer as she lifted her wand casting various muggle-repelling charms around the house keeping them away from the intruders, but she stopped as she felt a familiar form of the spell she was trying to replicate, greeted her. "Impressive Lupin. A variant of notice-me-not? Did you check for any signs of residual dark magic?"

"You told her?" Remus whispered, his eyes taking the terrific hue of his lupine form.

Sirius sighed. "I had to. She's the only one who could help." His eyes caught up with Remus' eyes and Sirius pulled his face towards him. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

Remus blinked his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"They were gold, like you know, when," Sirius said making an impression of a howling wolf.

Remus gulped looking back at Amelia Bones who was busy checking for the signs of residual dark magic around the muggle house. He blinked his eyes continually trying to make them normal. "Still?" Sirius nodded his head looking concernedly at Remus.

Remus' eyes widened. "I don't know. There is this odd kind of protective feeling since that bond happened with that little girl." As his glance fell on Sirius' empty hands and he howled, "Where's Harry?" Amelia jumped backward, as the window she was inspecting burst into shards at Remus' howl.

"What was that?" She came running towards the pair. "What's wrong with you people? We are in the middle of a muggle neighborhood."

Sirius scratched the back of his neck while Remus turned his face away from Amelia's probing eyes.

"Where are the residents of this house?"

"They were called to their teeth office on an emergency," Remus mumbles still keeping his away from Amelia.

"All of a sudden?" It's not easy to fool the personnel from Auror department. "And it is called a dentistry not teeth office."

"I confounded a person at that place to make that call. I needed the house to be empty to inspect the insides," Remus turned his whole body towards Sirius keeping his face still away from Amelia. "Why didn't you bring Harry?"

"Something very serious is going on, Remus. A powerful magical spell had been performed on the Grangers. The fate of it even makes my stomach twist."

"Harry is with Arthur Weasley, Remus. You can trust him. I stopped Sirius as we don't know of any lingering effects of the spell in this area." Amelia said placing a hand on Remus' shoulder, as he let out a relieved breath. "The spell had been performed in this area, Sirius. I'm not sure it was performed on these people," Amelia said biting her lip.

"It is performed on them, alright." Remus' shoulders slumped, "The proof's inside." He sprinted into the house with the other two towing behind him. He bypassed the living room which was completely devoid of any sign that a child lived there and headed towards the stairs. Sirius clenched his fists as anger bubbled in him at the state of the Granger house. Amelia unaware of the emotions running through the Marauders, carefully carried on with her screening for residues.

Sirius bumped into Remus as he stood in the doorway of what seemed to be a storage room.

"What are we looking at?" Amelia asked stopping just behind Sirius. But she didn't need Marauders to answer her. "Oh, my!" she gasped. "Can you feel it?" she asked twirling her wand in an intricate pattern.

Remus tentatively took a step inside and moved a large bookcase to a side. "I guess this was Hermione's room. Whoever orchestrated the whole thing, disguised it into a storeroom, hiding this."

"It's her mark," Sirius whispered as he walked towards it. He brushed his fingers on the bright crimson lightning bolt that was etched into the wall.

Remus nodded. "Look at the jagged edges," he said pointing to the places on the mark, where the lines were distorted. "Looks like she put up a great fight."

"Oh, Hermione," Sirius let out a sad yelp.

"I'm going to kill them," Remus growled in a protective tone. "That's why I was asking for Harry. They are connected. Probably he would be able to read whatever is on the mark."

"Of course. It makes sense. We'll go and get him immediately," Sirius said with determination moving towards the doorway.

Remus stopped him by his shoulder. "You may need to contact your Cousin, Pads. After all, her son is also connected."

"I guess this is where you explain to me, what in the name of Merlin are you talking about?" Amelia said placing one hand on her hip and the other one directly pointed at Sirius. "This is powerful magic. I can feel it thrum in me. The power is so strong that I can even tell when it was performed." She closed her eyes and turned her wand towards the mark. "It's less than four days. And you say a little girl did that."

"Amy," Sirius approached her. "I'll tell you everything. You know I trust you with my life," he slowly took her hand and turned the wand in her fingers, away. "I promise. But for now, a little girl is in danger. Hell, we don't even know if she's alive or not," Sirius said raking his hand through his hair.

"No, she's alive," Remus said raising his chin. "I can feel her."

"How would Remus know about her?" Amelia asked furrowing her eyebrows.

"Amy, please. Don't ask anything now. I'll tell you once I get Harry and that Malfoy boy here." Amelia stood quietly this time, knowing there would be no answers until the girl was found.

"I'll go to the ministry and fetch Harry from Arthur," said Sirius.

"No, wait. I'll go to Harry while you go to your cousin," Remus explained his friend. "I know you hate going to the Malfoys, but something in me says we need both the boys here to decipher what that mark signifies."

Sirius knew his friend was right and this is the quickest way. He looked back at Amelia who was still lingering in the doorway to the storeroom. Ignoring the questioning looks from Sirius and Remus she stepped into the room. "You might want to try Arthur's home, Remus. He said he'd take the kids home. Do you know where he lives?"

"I think so."

"I think its better if you head back to the ministry, Amy?" Sirius said with concern.

"I'll stay back. I feel like we're missing something very important. Why don't you go on and let me check what exactly is that nagging thing?"

"Just be careful," Sirius muttered under his breath and followed Remus to the door.

Amelia's voice stopped him again. "Sirius, wait. Malfoys are out of the country. Lucius Malfoy is still under Probation, but they got a special permission from the minister of magic to leave the country, something about rehabilitation." She spoke from the top of the staircase.

"Those sneaky Slytherins," Sirius growled. "What are we supposed to do now? How can we find them?"

"Severus," Remus mumbled. "He would know where they went."

"Why do you think the greasy git will help us?"

"He's involved in this Sirius. He's the godfather to Draco Malfoy and he's obliged to help."

"Where is he nowadays, anyway?"

"Oh, didn't you know? Dumbledore made him a part of Hogwarts' teaching staff," Amelia answered.

"Perfect," Sirius said punching his palm, thinking about landing that same punch on his old headmaster's crooked nose.

"You be safe, Amelia," Remus said with concern. "We'll pick Harry first and then go to Hogwarts."

"You needn't worry about Amy, Remus. You should worry about the person, who would think of attacking her," Sirius winked.

Amelia rolled her eyes and went into the storeroom while the Marauders walked out of the Granger house.

"That's some house," Sirius cocked an eyebrow looking at the crooked house in front of them. "When did you come here before?"

"Not under pleasant circumstances. I had to bear the news of Fabian and Gideon's death to their sister," Remus said walking towards the door. "It was terrible but Molly and Arthur are good people, Sirius."

"I believe you. Amelia is a good judge of character, or else I wouldn't have left Harry with these people," Sirius said raising his hand to knock. But a shrill voice sounded from inside, alerting his senses.

"Mine," Harry's voice echoed through the surroundings. Sirius met Remus' eyes anxiously and pulled his wand to burst open the doors.

Remus glared at him and rapped his knuckles in a continuous motion on the tattering door.

Not a minute later a plump redheaded woman opened the door. "Remus, how nice of you to come," she said opening the door wide. "You must be Sirius Black," Molly said inviting both of them into their house.

"Thank you, Molly," Remus said with a smile but Sirius' eyes wandered through the house looking for his Godson.

"Harry?"

"He's a wonderful boy. He's just playing with our Percy in the living room. Please come along," she said guiding them through the house.

"Mine. Wormy is mine," Harry's shrieked again.

As everyone rushed to the sitting room, they saw two children playing tug of war with something in their hands. Arthur was pulling a small redheaded boy by his waist, but his grip on the small squirming thing in their hands was unrelenting.

"Harry," Sirius rushed to his Godson.

"Pafoo," Harry cried and his momentary distraction helped the other boy to snatch the thing back to his hands.

"Percy. It's rude," Molly admonished the other boy as he ran to the other part of the room with the snatched treasure in his hands. She turned to the sniffling Harry in Sirius' hands and apologized.

"I'm so sorry, Sirius. Percy is not usually like this," Arthur explained to Sirius and Remus. "I didn't expect him to get so protective about that rat."

"You made my friend Harry, cry. Bad Percy," Ron who was standing to a side with Susan, ran up to his brother.

Susan slowly moved closer to Harry and brushed his tears. "Don't cry. Rats are gross."

"Wormy," Harry said brushing his tears with the cuff of his shirt as his glasses dangled on the bridge of his nose. "My wormy, Pafoo. Uncle Moo'y, that's my wormy."

Sirius and Remus exchanged nervous glances, while Molly forced Percy to go back to his room. "Come on, children. Would you like some treacle tart, Harry?"

"Pa foo?" Harry asked looking expectantly at the prospect of having a sweet momentarily forgetting about his wormy.

"Go ahead, Harry," Remus said draping a hand across Sirius' shoulder, while Sirius' stance starts to falter.

"Come on, dear," Molly took Harry to the kitchen completely ignorant of the emotional strain on the two people who cared for Harry.

"Did you hear, what he said," Sirius asked trying to contain his anger.

"Wormy," Remus murmured, his mind tumbling into a myriad of emotions. "He used to call Peter that."

"Are you sure it was a rat?"

"It did smell like a rodent."

"Come on," Sirius lunged into the kitchen where Arthur and the three children were digging into the treacle tart Molly just served.

"You should definitely try it. Molly's tarts are exceptional," Arthur Weasley graciously invited them.

"Pa foo, delicious," Harry laughed from beside Ron, who was already digging into his next helping while Susan giggled trying to lick a trace of that sweet from the tip of her nose.

"Thank you, Arthur. But we need your help. Do you mind coming to the sitting room?" Remus politely declined while stalling Sirius who looked ready to pounce onto the stairs, into which Percy disappeared.

"Of course," Arthur got up with a pensive expression. "Molly, stay with the kids," he instructed his wife who looked very confused.

"What did you want to talk about?" Arthur asked the werewolf, whose eyes sparkled in a golden color. "Is there a problem?"

"Your son, Percy," Sirius started advancing on Arthur.

Arthur's gentle expression turned into a stern one. "What about him?"

"What was he fighting about?" Remus asked with a carefully formed question.

"It's just a rat he found a few years back," Arthur asked furrowing his eyebrows. "He finds its company very soothing."

"It's him," Sirius growled lunging towards the stairs.

"Hey," Arthur said with a confused expression.

"Sorry Arthur. But that's not a rat," Remus said following his friend. "Come with me."

"Alohomora," Sirius yelled bursting the door open with his wand ready in his hand. "Where are you, Wwormtail?"

"Sirius, that's my son you're pointing your wand at," Arthur stood protectively in front of the small boy, who was holding something squirmy in his hands.

"You rat bastard. I'm going to kill you," Sirius lunged towards Arthur.

"Sirius, wait," Remus cried trying to control him.

Arthur pulled his own wand out and pointed towards Sirius. "Mr. Black, I ask you to leave my house immediately."

"Dad," Percy yelped at the same time, diverting the attention of everyone onto the little boy, who was clutching his bleeding finger. "He bit me."

Sirius and Remus went into an instant alert mode and crowded over the crying boy, as his father held him.

"There," Remus cried and jumped towards the corner of the bed, trying to catch the rat.

"Catch him, Remus. Grab that sneaky bastard. Don't let him get away."

"What's happening?" Arthur cried holding Percy tightly, inching towards the door.

"Arthur," Molly's voice echoed through the stairs.

"Molly, stay with the kids," Arthur yelled back.

"Damn it," Remus cursed as the rat's tail slipped from his fingers. "Sirius, we have to try the spell," Remus joined Sirius who was looking under the bed, where the rat sneaked off to.

"No," Sirius hissed. "I have to kill him with my own hands." Arthur's eyes widened as he saw the man in front of him, changing into Grim.

"Arthur, take your boy and stay out of the room. This rat's dangerous," Remus said while Sirius started to transform into his Animagus form. The giant dog then snaked under the bed snarling at the rat. Arthur clutched Percy to him and jumped outside the room, closing the door.

"Sirius, please don't do anything we're going to regret," Remus begged as the dog advanced on the little rat who was now cornered. Sirius let out a loud bark, which sounded very much like a maniacal laughter as he opened his mouth to sink his teeth into the whimpering creature in front of him. "Sirius, don't. You made a promise to James. Prongslet needs his Godfather. Harry needs you."

The dog stopped at those words. His mouth let out a vicious snarl but caught the whimpering rat between his teeth, without digging its teeth into it, he dragged it out from under the bed. The rat's tiny squeals were throbbing against their ears.

"Put him on the bed," Remus instructed the dog. As soon as the rat landed on the bed, Remus hit him with a freezing spell, making him still. With a large bark, the dog transformed back into the wizard. Locking his eyes with his friend, they unleashed all their wrath into the spell, that converts the rat back into their traitorous friend.

But nothing happened. The rat still remained frozen.

Sirius growled and hit the rodent with a continuous stream of the same spell. But Remus remained back. Something wasn't right. The spell should work even on petrified objects, but how did Wormtail manage to stick to his Animagus form.

"Stop it, Sirius," Remus stopped him. "Something's wrong." He moved closer to the rat and looked closer.

"Look," Remus pointed to his back, which was murky brown without any stripes.

"That rat bastard. Wormtail had a yellow stripe on his back after he turned into a rat," Sirius growled giving a mighty kick to the floor. "But why was Harry confused?"

"That's what worries me," Remus said opening the door to a very worried Arthur.

"Arthur, where did you find this rat?" he said pointing to the frozen rat in his hands.

Arthur narrowed his eyes at the pair. It was clear that he wasn't happy with the way the Marauders treated their son. But they all together survived a war and he could understand their emotions. He slowly shook his head and saw the rat in Remus' hands.

"That's strange. This wasn't the rat we found in Hogsmeade. He had a distinctive yellow stripe on his back," he scratched his stubble and called for his son. "Percy. This is not your rat."

Remus and Sirius didn't need any other confirmation. They used to have Wormtail with them, but the rat in their hands wasn't him. What happened to their treacherous friend then?

Percy ran towards a crooked pillar and hid behind it looking at his father's slowly building anger.

"Percy," Arthur slightly raised his voice walking towards his son. "What happened to your pet? Did you lose him?"

Percy tried to run away from the place but Arthur caught him by his hand. "Percy," Arthur sat down to his level. "What did we discuss about telling truth?"

Percy slowly lifted his eyes and met his father's stern gaze. "He ran away," the boy sniffled. "He ran away from me. I was afraid Mum would scold me, so I caught this in the field and painted a yellow stripe on his back."

"Oh, Percy," Arthur hugged his son. "It's not your fault. But you should've told us."

"Percy," Remus approached carefully. "When did your rat ran away?"

The little boy shyly met Remus' stare and spoke, "Four days back."

"Hermione," Sirius breathed as his eyes widened remembering Amelia's words.

"She was taken exactly four days, back," Remus said echoing Sirius' thoughts.

"It got to be Peter," Sirius stomped downstairs. "But what does he want with Hermione."

"The main question is, how does he know about Hermione and what was he doing in Hogsmeade," Remus followed Sirius downstairs, ignoring Arthur's stares.

Sirius was already picking up Harry from the dining table. "Harry, we have to go."

"Wormy?" Harry asked rubbing his sticky fingers on Sirius' shirt.

"That's not wormy," Sirius said hugging him tightly.

"No Hermine, no wormy," Harry sniffled into Sirius' shoulder.

"We're going to find her, buddy. Soon we'll find your Hermine," Sirius said pressing a kiss to Harry's brow.

"Thank you, Molly," Remus said. "We're sorry for everything, but we can't explain, right now. There is a little girl's life at stake."

Sirius nodded and mumbled, "Thank you," and headed towards the door with Remus closely following behind.

"Everything leads to one place, Moony."

"Hogwarts. Let's go, Padfoot."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: My apologies for the delay in posting the next chapter of this story. My sincere gratitude to all you wonderful people for the comments and kudos.
> 
> Regarding Sirius interactions with Harry and the Weasleys, I reckon Weasleys maintained their distance from Siris Black due to his family history or at least that was my interpretation.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Although this chapter is a short one, the story is going to be long, as I plan to cover all the seven years. This was the original idea that dragged me into this world of fanfiction and I hope you enjoy this journey with me. 
> 
> Beta Love to LuckyMascot. He's truly amazing. Without his help, this couldn't have happened. Thank you so much.
> 
> A shout out to White Bishop for all the encouragement. Thank you for your confidence in me.


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